The Bellie Stories
by FromScratch413
Summary: A series of prompts that follow Japril's first daughter, Arabella, from before her birth to 4 years old.
1. Goodbye

**During the 100 Days of One Shots that I did on Tumblr, I wrote an Avery baby. And someone asked for more of her story. And then slowly, I started building this world in which she has sisters, and then Japril in the universe she was born in, and it turned into something bigger than I ever could have thought. After I upload these prompts in chronological order (they weren't written that way), I'm starting a multi-chapter fic that starts after these prompts end."Goodbye" was written on Day 101. The prompt asked for Jackson to sit down at the breakfast with April's sisters and Matthew...No kids yet, but this is definitely Bellie's world.  
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><p>"Oh M Gosh, you're Jackson, right? " Alice asked, eyes widening with excitement as she leaned back to get a better look at him.<p>

"_The_ Jackson?" Libby was shocked.

"Look at that, I've gotta go to work." April looked down at her watch, unable to look her sisters in their eyes.

But Kimmie, Kimmie saw April blush, and she felt like having some fun. "Jackson Avery…. it's a pleasure to meet you. Won't you sit down? I've heard so much about you. I have so many questions."

"Oh me too, mee too," Alice nodded eagerly.

Jackson played with the keys in his pocket, uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, looking at April. "I actually, I have some time…I guess you could…Sure, sit Jackson." She cleared her bag from the spot at the table next to her. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure, I guess I can…" Jackson sat and let his voice trail. He had no idea what he was in for. Breakfast? An interrogation? It was impossible to know.

"So Jackson, did April tell you she named a pig in your honor?" April smacked Kimmie's hand, not bothering to be discrete.

"Kimmie, don't invite him to the table and then be rude. Jackson, would you like some bacon? A muffin? Some eggs? A mimosa?"

He wished he could have a mimosa. "I'll just have a muffin, thanks. I actually have the same shift as you." He turned to Kimmie. "No, no…I wasn't aware, April and I never talked." He smiled quickly, thinking of what they used to do instead, but then caught Matthew's glare and remembered. "…About that, we didn't talk about that."

"Stubborn pig, that one is," Libby chuckled, taking a sip of her drink.

"Alright enough, enough about the pig." April dropped her fork, fanning herself a little bit. It was suddenly very hot in the dining room.

"Do you remember when you first met?" Alice was looking right into Jackson's dreamy green eyes, but it was Matthew who began to answer, angry stare on his face.

"Yeah actually, I came into Grey-Sloan with a patient and…"

"Jackson…" Alice said, waving Matthew away. "I was talking to Jackson…"

"How I met April? Oh, I could never forget." He chuckled. "She was on the floor, surrounded by a pile of peanut M&Ms…" April blushed, but smiled in spite of herself. When she saw the sour look on Matthew's face, she turned serious, grabbed his hand.

"That sounds like our Duckie, what was she scrambling to get them in her mouth before five seconds was up?"

Jackson winced at the harshness of the statement. He smiled at April, squeezed her knee under the table. "No, no actually. She was just saving me from a horrible fall. Someone dropped them and she was just cleaning it up but I was totally not paying attention, about to fall on my face like an idiot. She had to scream 'Watch out,' before I had any idea what was going on. Embarrassing." He shook his head at the memory, really selling it.

April mouthed a "Thank you" at him and he gave a slight nod. Those were her M&Ms. And she ate the rest of the bag later, when she met Charles and Reed for the first time in the basement room they used to hang out in.

"So why aren't you married yet, Jackson?" Libby wondered. "You are a hottie."

"To say the least," Kimmie nodded, mid sip of mimosa, staring Jackson down.

"I just, I guess I…" Jackson looked around the room, uncomfortable. But all eyes were on him, including Matthew's. He chose to look at the pair that made him feel the calmest. The ones he knew the best. "I guess I just…I haven't found anyone else as special as…"

"Anyone as special as…" Alice asked, expecting Jackson to finish the sentence.

But their eyes were still locked. "No one as special," Jackson mumbled, still staring at April, oblivious to everyone else.

Matthew caught on though, and quickly turned April's face toward his. "You wanted to get in a little early babe, right? You should go…"

"Oh yeah, yeah, I should, I should go…" she looked quickly over at Jackson, but he was distracted, hastily trying to get up without knocking anything over.

"I should go too, it was nice meeting you ladies, thank you for the invite." He nodded at April's sisters. Then turned to her. "Goodbye April," he said, heading toward the door.

The finality in his tone made her nervous. "I'll see you later, Jackson. See you later." She was panicked, and she was suddenly acutely aware that she didn't want to say goodbye.


	2. Sleep

**This one was based off a prompt asking for Japril to realize they can't sleep without each other. It was written on day 65.**

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><p>"Jackson! JACKSON…No! No! No!" April rolled around in her sleep, screaming. She reached out her arms, but where she usually felt his arms wrap around her, she now just felt a pillow. Usually, his kisses on the back of her neck woke her up. Tonight, she woke up startled by the emptiness next to her. She sat up, face soaked in tears. He wasn't here. He didn't love her right now. They'd left each other.<p>

Immediately, the reached for her cell phone on the bedside table, dialing their number. He answered on one ring, but didn't say a word. "Jackson…" she cried.

"Bird. I'm here. I love you. I'm not going anywhere." It was what he said when she had the nightmare. That would be the only reason she'd be awake at this hour unless she was working. He'd say it, and then sometimes she'd say, "I need you." And they'd make love. And the light wouldn't come back in her eyes until after they finished. And then, she'd curl up in his arms tighter than before. And he wouldn't fall asleep until he heard her breath steady.

"Jackson, you die. In the end. You die. When I scream and you aren't there to wake me up. When I scream you are holding my hand, and then I usually wake up. But tonight, I didn't wake up. You didn't wake me up. And you died."

"Oh, Bird. I'm here. I said it. And you're fine." Bird. It was what he called her in their most intimate moments. She didn't know why. She wasn't sure he did either. It was just her name.

"You woke up right away." April bit her lip on her side of the line.

"I wasn't asleep." He didn't even bother to try. He stayed awake, watching bad sitcoms, the ones that went on after Late Night was over. He couldn't sleep without her there. He kept replaying the words they'd said over and over in his mind.

"I miss you."

"I'm not the one that left, April." Not Bird.

"I'm not the one who called you ridiculous."

"…But you pity me."

"No, no I don't, Jackson. I was upset, and I used the wrong words."

"Me too. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I can't sleep without you here. So, I don't even try."

"Jackson, you haven't slept for two nights? That's not healthy, babe."

"Oh…so you, you've been sleeping then…"

April heard the sadness in her husband's voice and couldn't help but smile. He missed her. "Not well…Jackson. I…I'm scared."

"It's over, April. The nightmare. It's over. Come home. Come home so I can hold you."

"Jackson, I'm scared because I…I'm pregnant and…religion is a big deal and.."

"You're pregnant?" April heard Jackson swallow hard.

"Yes…that's why I…I just keep thinking about…"

"Just come home, April. Come home. Let's talk. Like right now. Except…"

"We can talk in the morning."

"It's only two, April just come home."

"We can talk in the morning, Jackson, because when I get home, you need to sleep."


	3. A Name

**Based off of a prompt asking for Jackson to talk April through a panic attack. Written on day 67. Title changed from the original on Tumblr.**

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><p>Jackson's phone rang and he answered quickly, in a rush. "Babe, you got out of here just in time, we had a power outage a few minutes ago, I gotta go…see you tonight, OK? Love you."<p>

"J-J-Jackson, I'm n-n-n-not out yet, I was heading to the car, I'm stuck in the e-e-e-elevator, p-p-p-please don't h-h-h-hang up. I think I'm having a p-p-panic attack."

Jackson got up from his desk, knowing he'd have to check on the hospital while calming April down, he had no choice. "Breathe sweetheart, take deep breaths, I'm right here. You are fine, you aren't having a panic attack. We're just talking OK? Relax, breathe honey. It's not good for the baby if you panic, right? Breathe. Where are you?"

"W-W-West tower."

"April," he tried to sound casual. "You've stopped the west tower elevator before."

"That's n-n-ot funny, you were here. The lights were on. I wasn't pregnant."

"Not yet you weren't," Jackson whispered, as he bumped into Owen in the hall. "You check on North and South towers, I'll get East And West," he told the chief.

"Why? ER's in the west tower."

"J-J-Jackson, please don't tell him, please."

"Never," he promised. And then, loud enough for April to hear, "Bill went to check the West tower fuse box, says that's where the master controls are. Just called me a minute ago, says it's no big deal, should be up in a few minutes. But you know, we gotta reassure everyone. I'm heading to meet Bill right now. Please just check North and South." Owen nodded and Jackson turned his attention back to his wife. "Did you hear all that, that was the truth, OK? I promise. Tell me what you're gonna do when you get home?"

"I was going to stop at the bakery, because I really want cream puffs. And then m-m-make you taco soup for dinner."

"Taco soup, huh? Sounds good, how do you make that?"

"Code Blue!" April heard Callie scream from wherever Jackson was. She whimpered as she heard the static when Jackson threw his phone in his pocket.

"W-what was that," April asked, five minutes later when he was back on the phone.

"Nothing, just a code blue. Handled it. Back to this taco soup."

"Jackson, you throw cheese and beef and sour cream into a tomato base, this isn't h-h-h-elping me at all."

He heard April begin to cry. "OK, OK April, what would we do if I was there, picture me there."

"You would make a stupid joke about how you were glad to be stuck there, so you didn't have to be responsible for anything." April laughed.

"Absolutely, you know me so well baby."

"And then you would wrap your arms around me and start kissing me, to distract me." She smiled.

"Does it work?" Jackson asked, grinning as he took the stairs two at a time.

"Yes," April admitted, eyes closed, rubbing her belly as her baby kicked.

"Where, where am I kissing you, Bird?"

April groaned. "Jackson, we wouldn't have sex, and we're not home, you're not allowed to call me that unless we're home." But he could tell she was smiling, she was beginning to calm down, finally.

"OK, but…I think we would…"

April cut him off. "No, because I'm big as a whale right now, and you'd respect the rule."

"Right. No sex at work while the bump is visible. Fine, I'd just give you a lot of hickeys, then."

"Ew, no. You'd get bored after awhile, because you can never just kiss," Jackson knew that comment came with an eye roll.

"100 percent false, kissing you is the least boring activity in the world."

April ignored him. "So, you'd want to play the name game for the Princess…"

Jackson finally arrived at the East Wing, checking on the peds floor. "Maybe so…A…"

"Ariel."

"No, my daughter is not a mermaid." He turned to Arizona, "Everything good here, batteries and stuff? Power should be on in 30 minutes, tops. Promise."

"30 minutes?" The panic crept back in April's voice.

"Sooner, Bird. Sooner, but if I lowballed it I'd be in trouble. Ashleigh."

"Boring. Alice."

"No, nothing my mother would instantly approve of. Plus that's your sister's name, babe."

"Ugh, you're being so difficult Jackson. I can name my kid after mu sister. It's cute, and it's coming back…"

"We are not naming our kid according to a trend, like she's a hat or something…Arianna."

"It's cute, but if you don't wanna go with the trends we can't do it…that's one of the most popular hats these days…What about…Arabella?"

"That's so pretty babe."

"She just kicked when I said it, I swear." April smiled.

"When you get home I want you to put that name on the list, OK? And forget about the taco soup, you hear me? You go home and you update the list and then you draw a bath."

"Mmm. A bubble bath?"

"So many bubbles. And then you pour yourself some of that sparkling cider or that milkshake I made yesterday. And then you get in the bath and wait for me, OK? And when I get home, I'm gonna…"

"Jackson I'm a whale, I'm not in the mood to…" But the more she thought about it, the more she might be.

"Always in the gutter, your mind is. You yell at me, but you are just as bad, babe…"

April giggled, guilty. "Oh yeah, what were you thinking about, mister?"

"Uhh buying cream puffs and making you taco soup and feeding you while you lay in the tub til your toes turn to raisins, duh."

"Oh. Well how about I make the soup and you can feed me the cream puffs?"

"Ha! See, you don't trust me in the kitchen. When the lights go out, the truth comes out."

"I trust you, babe. It's just…I'm clearly a better cook and you'll be late and I'm starving so…"

"I'm not gonna be late, Bird, as soon as these lights come on I'm giving Owen orders and coming home to take care of my girls."

"Babe, I hear you…" There were tears in her voice.

"Hey, no crying, I'm right here, right here waiting for you." Suddenly the power came back and the elevator started moving.

"I love you so much, Jackson. So much."

The elevator opened, and April ran to her husband, breaking down in tears. "I love you too," Jackson said, hanging up his phone and holding her as tightly as he could in her current state. "Hey, hey, stop crying and kiss me…a blackout without your kisses is the most boring thing in the world." April laughed and kissed him. She didn't stop until he got paged. Then she went home to cook dinner and take a bath and wait for more.


	4. I Will Find You

**Based off of a prompt wanting Jackson to yell at Owen for overworking April. Looking back, I unconsciously foreshadowed the longer fic, in here. Written on Day 95. **

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><p>Jackson ran down the hall towards Owen, hands behind his head, trying to fight the tears creeping out from behind his eyes, where they usually lived and died. "Avery, she's fine, she's resting with an IV in, the baby is fine."<p>

"Fine? Fine, Hunt? You think putting the baby in distress and passing out from exhaustion is fine?"

Owen was taken aback. "No, not at all. Sorry, Jackson. I care about her. And Arabella, you know that. I just mean…"

"You just mean you're thankful she lasted through 31 weeks of your grueling schedule, without dying. I should really…" Jackson spit.

"Dr. Avery, what are you talking about?" Owen's eyes were wide, hands gesturing wildly, confused.

"The extra shifts she was picking up because you needed help. Why would you tell her that and not me? Or anyone on the Board? She's _pregnant_ Owen."

"Jackson, I don't know what she's telling you, but I've been begging her to slow down. Begging. She's telling me you sign off on anything extra."

Jackson's brow furrowed in confusion. "She kept saying you needed help…"

"Avery, why would I need help? You started scheduling in more coverage in the ER when she was 16 weeks, you know that. You started the whole new maternity leave transition schedule, which I support 110 percent, if you recall."

"I have to go see my wife." He had nothing else to say. Owen had a point. He was one of the biggest supporters of the maternity leave transition schedule.

He ran to April's side, mind suddenly racing even more. "Baby what is going on?"

"Dr. Pace put me on strict bed rest, but I'm fine, really…I need to drink more, that's all. I haven't been drinking today…I think you should go talk to him because…"

"April…tell me the truth, did Owen ask you for help, or are you picking up extra shifts on your own?"

"Kiss me, babe. You haven't kissed me all day."

He pecked her lips absentmindedly. "Babe, please, truth time. Because I was this close to firing Owen I…"

"Firing him for needing help? He's your chief of surgery, my God, Jackson."

"You are my wife. You are carrying my child. You are telling me he's asking you to work extra shifts. And then I'm getting paged that my wife is passed out and my daughter is in distress. So yes, I almost fired him."

April looked down, whispering. "Bella's fine, babe."

"Is she fine April? You want to test it, you want to keep taking extra shifts, keep lifting things, keep restraining crazy patients?"

"I haven't lifted anything in two months, Jackson."

At this point, it was obvious Owen was telling the truth. "Great, great. So, at 6 months, you were lifting what, exactly?"

"Not people, a box here and there. And Owen used to yell at me." She blinked back tears, watching how upset she was making her husband.

"What's your game here, April? You realize that's your child in there, right? Our baby girl is in there."

"I know, I know…I just…I'm scared…." A wave of tears overcame her sentence.

"Of what, April? What fear do you have that you avoid facing by lifting boxes and taking extra shifts." He sat on her bed, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Of not being a doctor anymore."

"You are so strong, April. One baby is not going to stop you from being a doctor. Meredith does it, and Arizona and Callie, what on earth got the idea in your head that you had to practice medicine until you passed out in case you couldn't anymore?"

"I'm not like them though. I know she was a surprise. But I've always wanted a family. And I want to raise them different than Meredith and Callie and Arizona. I love them, but we're different."

"I don't get it babe. I know you're different than them. I know how you want to raise kids. We've talked about this. Our ideas are not that different.

"

"I know us, Jackson. Whether we have three or freaking seven, they're going to come quick. And I wanna be there to raise my babies. With strict morals. And good schooling. And I want to see every homework page. But I don't want to stop being a surgeon. As soon as we have this baby…"

"We're gonna love her, April. As soon as you have this baby we're going to love her to pieces, and take care of her. And I have two whole months to work mostly from home and you can come back whenever you want. Whenever you want. And you can screen new daycare teachers if you want. I own majority of this hospital, something like that is easy to get done. But you have to take care of her, first. And you should tell me when you're scared, instead of lying to me and putting our baby in distress."

"I just don't want to lose myself, Jackson. I'm a trauma surgeon."

"A brilliant, gorgeous one. And if you lose yourself, I will find you and carry you back home. But we named this child when you were mid-panic attack in a powerless elevator. And this was her begging for you to slow down. Please, babe. For Arabella? Just deal with the bed rest. Please. And no more half-truths or whatever you've been telling."

"Fine. Bed rest and whole truths. For Bellie. But please, Jackson…"

"I will find you, April. I will." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and kissed her carefully. "I gotta work now, babe. I'll be back tonight to get you home and tucked in bed."

"No. Take a nap with us, Jacks. Please just be here for a few minutes."

"Ok, sweetheart. I'm here, I'll be here 'til you close your eyes." He kissed her forehead, tickling her arm like he always did to relax her, not leaving until he heard her light snore. He found an extra blanket on a corner chair and draped it over her, sending out a wish into the universe as he did so. _Please, don't let her get lost._


	5. Dr Diva Ballerina

**This was based off of someone just asking for fluff. Written on Day 94**

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><p>"How was your day, sweetheart?" Jackson came into the bedroom and kissed April, who was in bed propped up on pillows, huge belly sticking out, remote at her side.<p>

"Oh great, this first week on bed rest has been great, not annoying at all. I'm loving just sitting around doing nothing. It's not like I have an ER to be running, or an apartment to babify, nothing like that."

Jackson put his bag down and kicked his shoes off, joining his wife in bed. "No, you just have a baby to keep safe, that's all. I know you don't agree with this but you worked so much you passed out. I think it's best for Bellie." He kissed her bump. "How is she?"

April shrugged. "Not kicking as much, but that's normal for now. I don't know. I'm sorry I worked too much, but I really think I can get back, Jackson, I…"

"You know you can't, April." He turned her face to him, kissing her. "But I'm watching your ER, I promise."

She kissed him, giving him a skeptical glance. "You are?"

"Yeah. Instead of doing paperwork today I went and helped Owen for a few hours."

"I think you were just kissing up because you feel bad you yelled at him."

"Oh yeah? If I was just kissing up, would I have used the list?"

"Dr. Avery thinks the list is a waste of time. He only supports it because everyone else does."

Jackson jumped out of bed, pulling his tablet out of his bag and showing it to April. "Don't tell my boss I showed you confidential files," he whispered in her ear.

"Hahaha, so funny," April rolled her eyes, skimming the screen. "Oh my God, babe, you did use the list," she pulled him close, kissing him slowly. "If I was allowed to, I would do so much more than kiss you right now," she grinned, sparkle in her eye.

"If just using the list does that maybe I shouldn't show your presents."

April backed away from her husband quickly. She loved presents. "No , no, I'm good. Totally turned off, promise."

A shopping bag suddenly appeared, which April peeked at, excitedly, before pouring the contents out on the bed. "Babe, you got baby clothes? I would've paid to see that. I'm sure you were so cute, picking out little pink onsies. " She kissed his cheek and he blushed.

"Yeah, well, I know it's the last thing on your list so…"

April snorted. "The last thing? The last thing? There's a whole nursery there that has pretty walls, and nothing else." As excited as they were for this baby, they were both still experts at avoiding scary realities in favor of work. It was the reason she was stuck in bed right now.

"I know, I know, just relax about that for a second, look at the stuff with me. My mom's sending more and we can go shopping for more once she's born, if there's stuff you don't like, but…"

"Honey these are so cute! You are going to spoil your little princess, huh? There's no stopping you." She laid out infant onsies with sayings like, "Daddy's Little Girl" and "Mommy Knows Best" on them, and pastel colors and butterflies and they were perfect.

"Probably not," he shrugged, resting his head on her shoulder and magically conjuring up another two bags. "Some of that stuff is dresses she can't wear soon, but I thought you would think they were cute."

She nudged him, smiling. "Come on Jackson, own it._ YOU _thought they were cute."

"Alright fine," he smirked. "They have some really cute stuff for girls and…I know you care less about this stuff than I do."

"It's true, but I care."

"I know. Look what I found, I couldn't resist any of this." He jumped up, excitedly opening the closet.

"Geez, when did you hide all of these bags?"

"The other day, I went after work and did some but you were sleeping when I got home."

He brought over a huge bag filled with baby Nikes. "Oh geez babe, she doesn't need every color Nike sneaker."

"She's my kid, yes she does. Anyway, look at the bottom…again, they're big but…"

April pulled out the most precious pair of sparkly ballet slippers, gasping. "Oh honey they're adorable. You really are better at this than I would be! I'll admit it." Frugality was always important to April, but she was trying to let that go a little bit, because it was clear that Jackson would spare no expense when it came to Arabella, and she couldn't be mad about that.

"Last thing, I promise. To match those one day." From under the bed appeared a beautiful tutu, made of all different shades of pink tulle. April started to cry. "Oh babe, none of that, c'mon."

"I'm just…so happy. You can't wait for your little diva ballerina."

Jackson cleared his throat and starred at his wife, seriously. "Dr. diva ballerina, April."

"Oh, right, my bad. Doctor. She's definitely gonna be a doctor, too." She kissed him, fingers crawling down his arm affectionately.

"One more thing, babe."

"Oh no, what? I can't take many more sweet surprises."

"I took the weekend off."

"Yay! Are you gonna stay in bed with me all weekend except for when you're cooking for us?"

"Nope. No time."

"Oh really?" April eyed him, skeptically.

"I'll order you nice, healthy salads. But I'm gonna be way too busy finishing the nursery to cook anything remotely edible for you."

"Really? All by yourself?"

"Well, no. You're not getting away that easily. We can put a comfy chair in there so you can read me directions for a few hours, it won't hurt you."

"Ok, sounds good. I love you so much." She kissed the top of his head.

"So much you'll let me have the remote tonight?" he asked, hopefully, giving her the eyes.

"Not a chance, buddy. 'While You Were Sleeping' just started."

"You can watch that alone while I'm snoring."

"Ok, you go ahead, I don't mind, Bellie loves Sandra too, I won't be alone, she'll be listening." Jackson rolled his eyes at April before closing his eyes against her shoulder. He fell asleep just like that in ten minutes, jeans and all.


	6. Material Girl

**This was a very specific prompt asking for Jackson to be putting together a crib while A pregnant April watched, and played her baby 80s music. He can't help but be enamored with them, both. Just fluff, really. Written on Day 99.**

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><p>"April, read the diagram, please, you're supposed to be helping, that was the deal," Jackson smiled at his wife, watching her rocking quickly back and forth in the chair he'd just finished constructing.<p>

"Oh, like walking a few feet and sitting in a chair is going to hurt her. Bellie's good." April lifted one of the earpieces from her belly, rubbing it and talking to her daughter. "We're good, right diva?" She turned her attention back to Jackson. "We're good Jackson. I get it. I needed this week of rest. It was kind of nice to actually get to know characters on television. But I think I can go back to…"

"Nah, nope, not happening…next subject." Jackson turned back to the pink crib pieces in front of him, ignoring his wife.

"You're not the boss of me." April pouted.

"Wow. I think you might wanna revisit that statement." Jackson whistled, amused.

"What? You aren't. You want to teach me Avery Foundation stuff and as soon as you do…"

"Babe, what's this piece here, where does it go?" Jackson asked, not caring that he was being pretty blatant.

"That's H…it attaches to….L…what? It's the base for the bars…I think?" April wrinkled her nose in confusion, and threw the diagram on the floor, frustrated. "I don't know Jackson. It's not in English. I wish I was looking at the endocrine system, instead."

Jackson picked up the diagram, and went over to sit on the edge of the rocking chair arm. He kissed April's bump, and then her forehead. "You look cute when you're frustrated. What's she listening to, anyway?"

"Oh, it's my 80s mix it's got Dolly Parton, George Straight, Rick Springfield, Def Leppard…"

"You're kidding me."

"What?"

"You have my princess listening to a 'Worst of the 80s' mix which probably includes 'Pour Some Sugar On Me'".

"It does, so what? I like that song."

Jackson raised his eyebrows. "You want your daughter thinking it's ok to look like a trampy video vamp? Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

"Oh please, she doesn't know what those words mean, it's just a song I've always liked." April glanced at her Ipod screen. "It's not even up yet. Anyway, what would you suggest, if you love 80s music so much?"

Jackson smirked. "Gimme that." He grabbed her Ipod, scrolling through the music. After a minute, he looked at her, confused. "There's something wrong with your ipod."

"No, what do you mean? It's fine."

"April, there's no Madonna on here."

"Yeah uhhhh…I'm pretty much a country girl…I like a little pop and some of the rock, like I said…but…wait, you like Madonna?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

Jackson backtracked, quickly. "Well no but, I caught my mom rockin' out once and she said everyone has a favorite Madonna song.

April shrugged. "I guess. It's not like I don't know Madonna songs." She grabbed her ipod from him. "Here, what was your mom's song?"

He laughed. "Catherine was visiting 'La Isla Bonita' and it was pretty hysterical."

"What's yours?"

"Mine?"

"Yeah, 'Mr. Everyone Has A Favorite Madonna Song' what is it?"

Jackson leaned close, whispering in April's ear. "'Erotica."

She smacked him. "It is not."

"Fine. I guess 'Boarderline' is alright. If it's on. What's yours, babe?"

"I liiike hmmm…'Lucky Star' a lot…Look are you happy? I made a 'Best of Madonna…According to us…' playlist. You are so weird sometimes, Avery."

"Make sure you put 'Material Girl' on there, and play it for her. It's all about how diamonds are better than boys."

"No it's not, it's about how rich guys are better than poor guys."

"Oh same thing. She's gonna be spoiled, you know it."

"I will not raise a spoiled brat if I can help it. But whatever, conversation is ridiculous."

"Put 'Like A Virgin' on there too, for later." He kissed her neck, but she pushed him off of her.

"I don't know what you're doin' later but it's not me. This pregnancy has been high risk for a week."

Jackson looked up from the crib diagram. "And whose fault is that?"

"No one's babe. Just finish the crib, please? I want you to get the clothes in the dresser after dinner."

"Alright sweetheart, you just sit there, lookin' beautiful and let Bellie listen to that new, improved 80's playlist. Geez, I'm glad I fixed it up before you got to 'Welcome to the Jungle.' Put some MJ on there, too."

"You think I look beautiful?" April asked, smiling. She felt like a whale, was wearing no make-up because she had nowhere to go, and a nightgown, because they were easy to put on.

He looked at her from his spot back on the floor in front of the crib, and his face lit up. "You've never been more beautiful babe, than right in this moment."


	7. Not Tonight

**Someone asked for Jackson talking to April's belly. Written on Day 73. **

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><p>"Babe, I bought dinner, pepperoni and olive pizza, your fave right now…" Jackson walked into the house to find April asleep on the couch. He shook his head, placing his keys on the hook and the pizza on the counter. His wife was certainly stubborn. She was supposed to be on bed rest. Like, literally in the same bed he left her in this morning, except for bathroom trips. She was due in two days, but stir crazy from the second she got the orders.<p>

Jackson went over to the couch, kissed April's forehead. When he sat down next to her she stirred and murmured a bit, wrapping her arms around him, but didn't wake up, She could literally fall asleep in any position lately, he found it so weird.

"Listen Bellie," he said, placing a hand on his wife's stomach. "If you could just do dad a solid and come out really soon, I promise one day I'll make it up to you somehow. You are driving mama crazy, and I don't know how much more of this I can take. Also, I can't wait to meet you, pretty girl. I bet you have your mama's thick hair and my eyes, that's what she thinks. And we both think you already have an Avery personality…so, sorry about that, princess. Your mama will fix that up a little, she balances me pretty well. I love you both sooo much, and I know you're not comfortable either, princess, because you used to kick like crazy but now, not so much…so, I really hope you come meet us soon, we're pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Your mom's better than me though, so don't start the trouble until after you're here, in my arms OK? Come soon but…"

All of the sudden Jackson saw a water stain on April's pants. Her water broke. "Not tonight…" Jackson mumbled. It was their 9 month anniversary and he promised her one more date, a pizza date.

"April sweetheart, wake up. Bellie's coming, babe. Wake up." He placed a kiss on her lips and she was suddenly awake. First, staring down at the slowly forming wet stain on her pants, and then at her husband.

"Jackson, I don't…I didn't feel any…"

"OK, sweetheart…it's fine, it's gonna be fine. We're just taking a trip to the hospital to get you induced. You're fine, love. Maybe you'll start feeling them in the car….everything's fine." He wasn't so sure. If she didn't start feeling contractions soon that could be a bad thing, but one Avery trait he was proud to have was the ability to stay calm in crisis, to calm the people he loved.

He tried not to rush. Of course she needed to get to the hospital soon, but if he was rushing around like a crazy person April would get more nervous. Besides, April had already backed the hospital bag like 6 months ago. He went into the bedroom to get it, putting it by the door. All the while, April just stared at him, stunned. He kissed her.

"I'm just going to stick that pizza in the fridge, so we can have a cold pizza date whenever we get home ok? Everything's great, great enough to take this two extra seconds to put the box in the fridge…"

"OK, love are you ready to meet our Bellie girl, soon? Let's go!" He put the bag on his shoulder and led her out the door.

"Jackson, I'm scared. And I don't like cold pizza," April said, once he'd helped her in the car. In the ER, April was great in crisis. In her personal life? She tended to be a little…random and erratic when scared.

"I know April. I'm sorry. This all might be my fault. But I love you and everything's gonna be fine." He started the car and head to Grey-Sloan, hoping that last part was not a lie.


	8. Scream

**People started asking specifically for Bellie stories somewhere along this journey and it made me very happy. Someone specifically asked for Bellie's birth story, Day 79. Sorry if the medicine is a little off, anywhere along the way, here. **

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><p>"Mom, she literally won't let me in the room, it's not Dr. Pace, it's not Meredith, it's her. She will not let me in. After all the planning, everything. She just won't let me in."<p>

"Honey, I don't know what to tell you. Harper has the plane right now so I have to take the next commercial flight. She wouldn't have you miss the birth of your daughter, Jackson."

"That is the last thing I care about right now, we've been here five hours, and they repositioned the baby and she's screaming and moaning in pain and she just…won't let me in."

"Well, a lot of women get really mad at their husbands…especially the first time when they realize just how painful it really is to…"

"She's not mad, she keeps screaming that she doesn't want me to see her like this and…"

"Jackson Harper, I did not raise you to whine when you didn't get your way. I raised you to keep trying until you got it. I do not have time to listen to you right now; I'm about to get on a plane to come meet my granddaughter, who, from what you are saying, will be born before midnight. If you want to go watch your wife roll around in pain, go do it."

Catherine hung up on Jackson before he could protest, and he was livid. All the women around him were being so infuriating right now. They'd gotten to the hospital around 4 PM and induced April. She needed an ECV to turn the baby first, and she'd kicked him out of the room because she did not want him to see her in pain. He hadn't been allowed back in since. Meredith said April made the choice for herself, not because she was protecting him in any way, so he should just accept it. But, Jackson thought the situation was ridiculous. She was going to have a perfectly safe vaginal birth in water, as planned. There was no acceptable, medical reason why he shouldn't be in that room. He'd had enough.

"Meredith Grey, get off of my yoga ball," Jackson demanded, as he entered the room. He'd waited until he saw April's contraction was over.

"Jackson, no," April whispered, her voice nearly inaudible because of all of the other distractions she was working through in the moment.

"Jackson, for the millionth time, get the hell out of this room," Meredith nearly bared her teeth and growled. She took the job of being someone's labor person far more serious than anything else. But Jackson was prepared this time.

"No! You get the hell out of this room before I fire you, forcing you to go to D.C. and make nice with your husband. Don't look at me like I can't, you know I can. I'm the one who should be sitting there. And you know it. So please get the hell off of my goddamn yoga ball before I remove you from it myself."

Meredith jumped up instantly, like he'd just poured a bucket of ice water over her head. "Geez, we were gonna call you when she was ready to push," she grumbled, walking past him to the door. She eyed April, who looked sweaty and defeated on the ball on the other side. "Sorry, he's scary when he wants to be…And he can technically fire me…and I really can't go to DC right now, plus he's right." She shrugged, leaving the room, door slamming behind her.

Jackson saw April brace herself for another contraction and reached out to hold her as he'd seen Meredith do. "Don't touch me," his wife seethed through gritted teeth, turning her head away and moving her ball back a few inches. Jackson obliged, for the moment. He figured just being in the room was a small victory right now. But he could tell she was holding back a scream, and that infuriated him all over again. He took the classes, he read the books, he was prepared for everything, and the fact that she was trying to hide from him made him crazy.

So, when the contraction was finished, he spoke his mind, no matter that she wouldn't look him in the eye. "April, we have crazy, sweaty sex sometimes. I've seen you have some crazy sex."

"Shut up, Jackson, that was a horrible start to whatever…"

"And you've seen me wake up from nightmares, when I don't know where I am, and start crying."

She started to speak, but he cut her off. "You told me about all the girls in Moline who made you cry so much you changed your face for them. I told you about how sometimes, I still feel like the 12-year-old boy who used to wish every night that his dad would come back. Those are vulnerable moments. _Those_ are painful moments. This is just childbirth. Let me in. Let me help you. You know I read everything you gave me. I'm ready babe, scream."

April nodded and moved closer to Jackson. She put her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder, and screamed as the next contraction came over her. But it was a polite scream. Tiny little ahh, ahh, ahhs. Jackson didn't buy it. "April, I've heard you scream louder than that when…"

"If you bring up sex again while I'm in the middle of having your child I swear you won't ever hear that same scream again…"

"I was going to say, when I mixed colors with whites that time and ruined the whole load of laundry. Come on, don't think I didn't hear you out there."

April couldn't control the next sound, if she wanted to. The pain of the contraction was so sharp, so completely overwhelming, she let out a moan that came straight from her gut, raw.

For a split second, Jackson understood why she wanted to keep him out of the room. Seeing her in this amount of pain was incredibly difficult. He wished he could take on all of her pain for her. What she was suddenly showing him was closer to agony than anything, and it killed him.

She looked at him expectantly, something like an apology on her face. They were newlyweds, after all, still navigating their lives together, still seeking approval from each other. Even during childbirth, April cared.

"I love you," was all he could think to say. She let him kiss her before the next contraction. It came quickly, and she grabbed his neck, holding tightly as she breathed through the pain, nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye.

"It huts so bad, Jackson. I can't…I can't take it much longer. I want to push."

"You're doing amazing, sweetheart. Amazing. You weren't kidding, Kepners were built to have babies. It's only been five hours and she's almost here. On your first baby? Amazing."

"I think she has more to do with that than anything." Another contraction, another guttural scream. "Jackson, I can't…"

"Let's get in the tub, yeah? Let's get you checked out and get in the tub."

"Jackson, I…I'm sorry I made you stay out, I…I'm…"

"Shh…I'm here now. Let's have a baby."

She nodded and accepted his kiss before he went out to find a nurse.

An hour later, Jackson sat behind April in a huge inflatable pool in the middle of a hospital room. Compromise, he was learning. If it were up to her, she'd be in the middle of their living room, doing this. But when the pregnancy became high risk, he put his foot down. He'd agree to anything she wanted, as long as they were in a hospital. Because the ECV was successful, Dr. Pace was comfortable proceeding without a c-section. So, water birth it was.

"Push, baby…big push. She's almost here."

"You're lying," she said, through gritted teeth, baring down to push.

"He's not April, he's not. She's coming, your daughter is coming, April. Keep pushing, just like you have been, you're doing great."

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Holy crap it huuurts!"

"Jackson, feel, tell her what you feel."

"Don't you dare look down there right now, Jackson."

"I'm looking at you, Babe. I'm looking right at you. But I feel her. I feel our baby's head."

"Really?"

"Really sweetheart, feel."

April put her hand down and felt her daughter. She kissed Jackson. "She's almost here."

"I told you, baby. Next time you give a really big push, OK? Really big." He kissed her shoulder. April nodded as she felt the next contraction come. "Push April, hard. She's coming babe."

"Next push will be your last one, April. I need you to make it a good one, 'cause I'm gonna pull her out and put her on your chest."

"One more?"

"One more and you get to hold our princess. Ready?" He saw the contraction coming in April's face. "Push baby, you got it. You're doing amazing mama, push, push, push…" Tears filled his eyes as he watched his daughter come into the world. "She's here, April. She's here." Dr. Pace lifted the baby out of the water.

"She's not crying, Jackson."

"Give him a second to suction, babe." He did, and as he placed her daughter on her chest, she let out a loud, healthy scream. "See, she's perfect, love. Thank you. Thank you so much for my perfect baby girl. I love you."

"I love you so much," she kissed him, as they held their daughter. "Are you gonna cut the cord?" She laughed.

"Of course I am."

Later, they sat as a family, as April tried to get her daughter to breast-feed. "She's an Avery alright, so fussy, already."

"Fussy but perfect." He kissed his wife and daughter, never feeling more content in his life.

"Knock, knock. Nana's here." Catherine hardly ever saw her son smile when he greeted her, but ever since he got married, that was changing.

"Come meet your granddaughter, mom. She's as stubborn as you are."

"Ha!" Catherine chuckled. "Me, huh?"

"Sorry, Catherine, give me a minute. I'm just trying to get her to latch."

"Well, maybe she needs a little break, huh? Let Nana hold her a second, and then I'll tell you how I got this one to latch. Avery babies sure put up a fight." Jackson blushed. April reluctantly handed her daughter to her mother-in-law.

"Oh April, she's an angel. What's her name?"

"That's Arabella. Arabella Catherine Avery. Born 11:49 pm. 9 months exactly, from our wedding night." April smiled. Fussy baby or not, she had the perfect family.


	9. The Sweetest Dreams

**I did this for Day 51. Someone asked for Jackson and April taking care of the baby in the middle of the night. **

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><p>"Hi beautiful," Jackson said, walking in from his shift at midnight. April's eyes were closed, but he knew she was awake; she was always awake these days.<p>

"Hi, baby, do you know what today is?"

"Of course I do, Bellie was two months at midnight. How was your day, mama? Better?" Jackson got in bed next to his wife; she placed her chin on his shoulder.

"Well, she only spit up three times today, and she's sleeping at this second, but Princess Avery likes to cry, that's for sure."

"I know, babe. Thank you for taking care of her while I work. Here, I got you a present. I was gonna wait until later tonight, but we're both awake now and you look like you could use a little sparkle right now." He reached into his bag and pulled out a jewelry box, opened it, and placed a square diamond necklace around her neck, kissing it as he did the clasp.

April smiled up at him. "Are you gonna do this every month?"

"Until she's one, yes. You deserve everything."

"You don't need to give me presents for being Bella's mom…But you know what you can finally give me?" April eyed her husband, kissing his chest.

"You're ready? You're sure?" he kissed her, looking into her eyes for the answer. At six weeks, she'd asked him to wait until she was ready. And he had, patiently; expecting to have to wait another six weeks after Dr. Pace gave them the green light, knowing April. He was happily surprised he'd only waited two extra weeks, but a little skeptical.

April nodded, pulling off her spit-up stained t-shirt and throwing it to the floor. She was bra-less. Extra clothes were pointless these days. "Yes, fast before she wakes up."

"Well, aren't we romantic?" He explored her body with his lips, stopping her as she tried to pull her pajama bottoms off. "Stop, relax, baby. We're gonna take this slow."

Arabella's cry came through on the baby monitor and Jackson pulled away, defeated. "And that…is why we can't afford to be romantic anymore," April groaned.

"I'll go," Jackson said, jumping out of bed. "And, I think you're wrong."

"I'm right behind you, she's probably hungry," she eyed her t-shirt, contemplating putting it on for a second, but it was pointless if she'd just have to feed her. She went to the nursery.

Jackson was in the middle of changing the baby's diaper, but she was still hysterical. "Whaaat, princess, what? You're dry baby, what's wrong?" He snapped up her onsie and took her over to the rocking chair, oblivious to April. "Come on, Bellie, I missed you. I missed you so much today, don't just cry…shhhh, shhh…tell me about your day, hmm…mine was boring. I just did some nasal surgeries and some liposuction and missed my girls…How were your dreams, hmm? Sweet? I hope you have the sweetest dreams." He kept rocking with no success.

"I think she's hungry, babe…let me." Jackson looked up, surprised to see April in the doorway. She quickly covered her chest with her arms, suddenly shy.

"Hey, come here. Why are you shy like that? I'm very familiar with those…"

"I know, just…quick reaction, sorry." She blushed and smiled. "Here. Give her to me." She sat down next to Jackson in the rocker and took Arabella from him. They had gotten a custom wide rocking chair for moments like this. "Hi, Princess, are you hungry, hmm? Is that why you're crying at daddy? That's not very nice, you know. He works very hard for you, he just wants to make you happy, Bellie girl."

She latched on quicker than usual, looked up at April, content. Jackson watched his wife feed their daughter, huge smile on his face. He was so lucky. "What?" April asked, when she caught him watching as she moved the baby to her other side.

"Nothing, just thinking about how lucky I am to have such beautiful girls." He kissed her cheek.

"We're the lucky ones," April said, passing over the baby. "Here. She's quiet. You take her. I'm just gonna use your shoulder as a pillow. Don't mind me."

Jackson took the baby back, smiling at her. "Hi. Are we ready now? Are we ready to sleep now that daddy's plans for the night are ruined?"

April chuckled, half asleep. "They were my plans."

"Good thing Daddy's off tomorrow, we've got lots of time for a rain check."

"Mmm…you think so…"

"Oh no, I know so, right Bella, right? You're gonna be so good tomorrow." Bella looked up at him with her big eyes and gave him a huge smile. "Babe, look, she's smiling."

April turned her head and smiled at her daughter, who was smiling up at her, for the first time. . "She's early, that's awesome. I hope she sleeps through the night early, too. I can't take another month of this."

"Go to sleep, babe. And tomorrow, your only job is to stay in bed. I'm gonna make you breakfast, and lunch, and dinner in bed. All you need to do is eat and sleep."

"Mmm…We can do other things, too. I'm gonna go dream about all the other things we're gonna do." April kissed her family and went to bed, knowing she'd have the sweetest dreams tonight.


	10. Meant To Be

**This is the first Bellie story I wrote, on Day 27. It was based off of 2 different prompts, one asking for pretty much exactly what happens with the photograph in this story. The other one was asking for April to ask Jackson why he stood up. **

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><p>"April, why's this last picture here? We're confused, right Bellie?" Jackson bounced his 3-month-old daughter on his knee while looking through April's anniversary gift.<p>

Arabella Catherine Avery was born 9 months after their wedding night, to the day. That was going to be embarrassing for her in about 12 years. For now, she just blinked up at her dad, her hazel eyes fascinated by his face. She put her fingers in his mouth. "No thanks, baby girl, I ate already." He smiled at her, placed a kiss on her chubby cheek.

"You need to look more carefully at the background, daddy,' April cooed in her best baby talk. It was all she used lately. "But while you do that, we're gonna go to sleep, so you do that and in about 10 minutes you'll have me all to yourself…And I really don't feel like looking at pictures tonight." She took the baby from his arms.

"Oh you don't, hmm? What do you feel like doing?" he called to his wife, who was already heading to the nursery.

"I'm sure you can use your imagination. Daddy has a great imagination, right Bella?"

15 minutes later Jackson was still admiring the same photo. April must have just arrived in Seattle. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun and there was only lip-gloss on her lips. She looked to be in an airport food court. Jackson, sadly, was very familiar with those.

"Still nothing, really?" April asked as she reentered the kitchen. She sat on his lap.

"I'm mesmerized by your eyes." He said into her hair. He kissed her neck. "But really though, I don't get it. These are all pictures of us, starting from like a week ago with the baby and going backwards…. so…you just like the random airport picture? It is hot."

"It is not hot. What day did you get in to Seattle before our program started, Jackson?" April asked.

"Ummm a week early, and we stared the 15th. Sooo…the 8th then. My buddy picked me up."

"And you had lunch at the airport?"

Jackson blinked at her. "Yeah, you know I always beg to do that, I'm always starving."

"I got in that day too. And then I ate at the airport. And my mom insisted I pose for this picture…" She nudged her husband to look at the picture again.

Jackson still just blinked. April sighed. "Who is that right there, almost off the edge of the picture, laughing?" She pointed.

"Oh my God…that's that's me."

"MMM hmmm," April nodded. "Thaaat was our first picture together, not the Mercy West interns picture."

"How did you find that? That's so amazing."

April shrugged. "Looking through stuff for this gift. I noticed your eyes."

"My eyes huh?" He pecked her lips. "You know what I'm noticing right now?"

April rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jackson, my boobs are bigger, it's called breast feeding."

"Not that. Although they are quite fun." She smacked him. He ignored it, he was so used to it by now. "Your stomach was growling, you hardly ate."

"I was dealing with Princess Avery, you saw, she wasn't eating either." Princess Avery is what April called Arabella whenever she exhibited difficult behavior. She loved her daughter, but she already saw the Avery pension for pickiness in her. And she was literally a Princess on both sides of the family. The first baby in since Jackson on his side and the fist granddaughter on April's. She was spoiled rotten. "I'm not even hungry."

"Well, I have a surprise for you, I think you'll want it."

He slid her off of his lap and went to the fridge. He pulled out half of a chocolate chip cake with vanilla frosting. April gasped. "How did you…I thought they threw that out."

"Of course I wouldn't let them throw our wedding cake out. You're supposed to eat the top layer on your first anniversary. But we'll…you know…improvise, we're good at that." Jackson and April had gone right from getting married to their hotel room, they just couldn't wait. When they got hungry they ordered room service cheeseburgers and asked the staff to make them a small wedding cake. They fed it to each other, and then ate it off of each other. It was the best cake April had ever had. When she woke up the next morning, she assumed it had been thrown out.

"Happy anniversary, babe." Jackson fed her a bite and kissed her.

"I haven't asked this question for a year, 'cause it seemed pointless but…what made you stand up, Jackson. Please don't avoid answering. I don't wanna talk all night, I wanna have sex soon." Since becoming a mom, April was less shy about sex. She had to be. She practically had to schedule orgasms to have any lately.

Jackson understood. "Mark Sloan told me once, that if I love someone, I should tell them. Even if I was scared it would burn my life to the ground, I should say it loud and go from there. The first time I knew I loved you was after he said that to me. I ran to Joe's as soon as I could, after that. But you were on a plane to Moline."

"I'm sorry." April fed Jackson cake.

"We got messy. My feelings got confusing. The next time I realized I was in love with you was on your wedding day, the day I had the patient who stroked after minor surgery. The one who was telling his wife everything he wanted to in case he couldn't speak after. I remembered Mark's words and started thinking about you. By the time you got down the aisle I was thinking about you being with another man and well…I just, I knew I wanted you to be mine."

"Your wife, or…"

"When you ran, did you know I'd be your husband the next day? That we'd make a Bella on our wedding night?" He was guessing, of course. But she was definitely a honeymoon baby.

"Well no…So I have Mark Sloan to thank being your wife? For our daughter? That's so weird…"

"Kind of, but not really. I think this picture proves that we were meant to be from the second we got to Seattle." The photo album was still open on the table.

"Meant to be huh? I guess we were…we've been through a lot. We're a pretty good team. And our baby sleeps through the night now, so can we go have hot anniversary sex?"

"Absolutely," Jackson picked April up, carried her down the hallway. "You wanna make another Bella?" he whispered in her ear.

"No way! She'd barely begun to develop a personality, and I can already tell there's only room for one Arabella Avery in the world."

"Oh," Jackson frowned a little, confused. April always talked about how she was getting older and needed to have all of her babies sooner than later.

"Let's try to make a calmer baby tonight, any tips on the Internet for that?"

"Yes," Jackson said, placing his wife on the bed and throwing her dress off, immediately. "Hours and hours of continuous practice."

April giggled. "We'd better get started, then."


	11. Needs

**Day 107. Someone had asked for one in which April is pretty obsessed with her child. Bellie has sisters. One might have been conceived in the time immediately after this prompt ends ;)**

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><p>"Jackson did you hear that, she totally just said 'ma ma ma.'"<p>

Jackson turned his attention away from the T.V., to his wife and daughter. "Doesn't count, April, she's been babbling since she's 6 months. I'm talking looks at you in the eye, reaches out and says 'mama.' I wanna win, fair and square, though I wish she'd hurry up so mom and dad could go on a date already." He pinched his daughter's cheeks. "Can you do that for me, diva? Will you say your first real, intentional word soon so mommy can take daddy on a date? I need some romance in my life again, soon."

"Romance? Since when do you need romance, babe? You get sex." She tickled her daughter, loving that sweet little smile.

"Whatever, April, OK."

"Jackson, I'm worried. She hit everything else early. Rolling over, crawling, she's even walking a little bit and she's not.." And they were back to talking about the baby, again. Jackson loved Arabella. She had an awesome little personality already, and she was a super smart baby. He loved coming home to her sweet face, and he loved to make her laugh. He was completely devoted to her, but he wasn't obsessed with talking about every little burp she made.

"April she's fine. She's been babbling fine, we're high achievers, we're doctors. But a lot of people would've counted 1000 sounds she's made as words. Seriously, you need to calm down OK? I'm all about pushing my kid to succeed, trust me. If I thought I'd win we'd still be having the boarding school conversation. But she's not even a year old, just have fun with her. Relax. Enjoy your kid. She doesn't need to be watching Spanish videos right now."

"The earlier they start to learn, the better and she's…"

"Will you just put her to bed, April? Put her to bed and go to sleep, ignore everything I'm saying, as usual. And go to work, and come home, and play with the educational toys and feed her, and eat, watch the videos and put her to bed, and do it all over again the next day."

"Jackson, geez, what are you…" But he had already kissed Bellie and shut the TV. April jumped at the sound of the door slamming, sighing as she carried Arabella to the nursery. "I think I made daddy mad, diva. Oh well, I can fix it right? I can fix it. No big deal." But she wasn't so sure.

"Jackson, what was that? Babe…I know you're awake, talk to me."

"All of the sudden you want to talk? I'm tired." He moved even farther away from her, laying on his stomach.

"Don't do that. Don't turn away from me. Don't ignore me."

"And what have you been doing to me, for five months, since you've been back to work?"

"I do not ignore you Jackson, don't even…"

"No you don't. You don't ignore me. You talk to me about the baby. Or about work. But mostly about when Arabella sleeps, when she eats, when she poops, what she watches, what she plays with, what sounds she makes, what she used help her stand up today…April, please don't pretend it's not true. Or that work hasn't made it worse…"

April's eyes widened. "Are you saying I shouldn't be working, because…"

"Absolutely not. Do you really think I would suggest that? I'm saying, hire a babysitter every once and a while, just once. It doesn't have to be on a night when she had daycare that day…But, when was the last time you hired a babysitter?"

"Never…" April looked down, finally getting the point.

"And when my mom comes, and yours…"

"I don't let them babysit, so we can go out…"

"I miss you, April. And I know we have sex but that's not the only reason I married you, no matter what you think," Jackson smirked. April didn't laugh at his bad joke. "And when we do have sex…don't act like you don't schedule it in your mind, April. Like it's a chore."

"It's not, baby, I love having sex with you." She kissed him, happy he didn't turn her away. "I'm sorry, you're right. I…I won't do the video every night. And I won't talk so much about the baby, all the time…It's just…hard with work and, and everything."

"I know, sweetheart. But like I said, if you just let yourself relax a little bit more. It will be better for her, too. If you're more relaxed."

"What do you need, Jackson? What do you need from me?"

"Nothing, really. Sometimes, I just want to talk about something other than work and what Bellie did this afternoon at dinner…"

"OK," April straddled Jackson. "Basketball, we can talk about basketball," she laughed, kissing his cheek. "You can teach me all about it."

"Yeah right, you'll fall asleep into your mashed potatoes."

April wrinkled her nose. "When do we ever have mashed potatoes, I bake them, if…"

"Shh, it was just an example, for visual effect." Jackson laughed. His wife was so crazy sometimes, he loved it.

"Visual effect, hmmm? What else do you need?"

Jackson kissed April, unbuttoning her shirt slowly. "Maybe a date, soon." He whispered in her ear.

"Let's wait until she says her first word, OK? The terms are set anyway, winner buys dinner." Jackson rolled his eyes. "What," April smiled. "I can't change that quickly, and it will make the date special."

"Alright, fine. But no extra pressure on Bellie."

"Jackson, I'm not that crazy with the stuff…She likes the Spanish. You should hear her babble when it's on." Jackson kissed her neck, trying to send a message. "Oh, sorry…what else do you need, love?"

"Love."

"That's mean, Jackson. I know I've been a little crazy for a few months but I always say I love you…"

"No, April. I mean…" He threw her shirt behind her back. "We have sex, enough…and it's great, but…we don't spend a lot of time…we don't really…take our time and well…make love anymore…."

"Oh you want to make love to me, huh?"

"I need. I need to make love to you, soon, April."

April giggled. "I think I can make that happen, riiight now…" She whispered in his ear, reaching behind her back to undo her bra.


	12. Wars

**Day 61. The prompt was for April to find out Jackson was ticklish and use it to get her way. **

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><p>"Not it, totally not it," April passed the baby monitor to her husband quickly, as if it was going to burn her.<p>

"Whoa hey, not me, it's quicker for you to get up."

"Jackson," April gave him a death stare. "She just puked on me. I just got out of the shower. Don't punish me for sitting on your lap, you like it when I'm here, don't deny it." She kissed him and he let out a little laugh.

"That tickled."

April looked at him, eyes wide, and her mouth hanging open. "Jackson Harper, you're ticklish, how did I not know that?" A gleam of mischief appeared in her eyes.

Jackson shook his head vigorously. "I am not. She always wants you when she's sick but…Rock, paper, scissors, best two out of three, let's go, we've got a sick Princess Bella waiting on us."

April shook her head. "No games." Her fingers tickled down his neck, and immediately he burst out laughing. She tickled his chest and the sides of his rib cage, loving the sound of his laughter. Jackson never laughed, not this loud, not this completely.

He saw the look in her eyes as she slid off his lap and knew her next destination. "Not my feet baby, not my feet," he begged and jumped off the couch, running away. "You win. OK, you win. I'll go get puked on. I'll go. You just sit. Be pregnant and happy. Here, look, take the remote. I don't even care about the score."

April grinned, flopping down on the couch. "Mmm…you'd better give me the remote, Buster. I have a new weapon in my arsenal."

Jackson rolled his eyes, going to answer his daughter's cries. "Sorry, Bella, mama's evil, so evil."

He entered the room and smiled at his daughter, standing up in her crib, sad pout on her face. "Dada," she cried, reaching out when she saw him.

Even though she was sick, Jackson couldn't help but smile as he lifted her out of her crib. "Did you say 'dada,'" the 11-month-old placed her head against her father's chest and whimpered. "Oh come on princess, none of that," he tickled her neck in one of his own most ticklish spots, and got a little giggle. He walked out into the living room with her, addressing April. "You owe me a dinner, mama. She said her first word. Looked at me dead in the eyes, reached out and said dada."

April turned her attention away from the T.V. "No way."

"Mmm hmm…the things that you miss when you're afraid of a little baby puke."

"She did not, did she really? Did you really say 'dada,' you little stinker? After all we've been through together today?" April tickled her daughter's belly. Arabella giggled, turning her hazel eyes, which were peeking at her mother, into her father's chest.

"Dada," she said again.

Jackson kissed the top of her head. "That's right Bellie, you tell her."

"Well, this war isn't over, buddy, you have no chance with this one," she rubbed her belly, which wasn't even showing. She knew her body, though. She was pregnant.

"We'll see about that…what do I do with this little monster, she's clean."

"Try some juice, but since you're such buddies tonight, keep her on your lap, she hasn't kept anything down all night."

"No way, she gets her own seat, I need a buffer to protect me from the tickle monster." And so baby Bella sat between her parents with her sippy cup that night, having put two wars to rest in one night, at least for the moment.


	13. Extraordinary Eyes

**One of my favorite Bellie stories, if not my favorite. Based off a prompt asking for the story of the first day Japril met at Mercy West. This is why I said "Goodbye" belonged in Bellie's world. Day 64.**

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><p>"Happy Anniversary babe!" April announced, walking in from her shift and falling into a kitchen chair, exhausted.<p>

"Oh great. Do you know which one this is, Bellie? Because Daddy has noooo clue. No clue," he inflected his voice so his daughter would respond. Ever since her first distinct word, three months earlier, she was a pretty non-stop babbler.

"No cooo," Arabella giggled.

"That's right, baby, nooo cluuue. It could be the anniversary of the first time we watched a movie together, or the first time we went on a plane together, or the first time we fought at work…your mama's so crazy, who knows what she came up with today." Jackson scooped up some beans on a fork and tried to feed his daughter, but she turned her head away.

April rolled her eyes and threw a bag of Skittles at Jackson. "Whatever, Jackson. One of us has to be romantic. Do those spark your memory?"

"Hey, I'm romantic, sometimes." April smirked. "On occasion, when the mood's right. You're pregnant, are you not?"

"Sex is not romance, Jackson. You are the one who said we needed romance, first. And you haven't delivered."

"Well you definitely don't complain, so…" April blushed. Jackson finally looked down at the bag of candy. "Skittles? Oh…baabe come here, this is great, you've never done this one before," he smiled, motioning for her to sit next to him.

"You remember!"

"Of course I remember the day I met you, April. I'll never forget it…"

_April walked down the hall of Mercy West in the middle of her first 48-hour shift as an intern, juggling charts and a bag of peanut M&M's. She didn't even care who saw her. Anything to stay awake at this point. _

_Engrossed in a patient's chart as she rounded the corner, April didn't bother to look up and see the gurney waiting for her. Immediately, she crashed into it, sending her, her huge bag of M&Ms and her pile of charts flying. On the floor, April put her head in her hands, groaning. Everything that could go wrong today was._

_She answered simple questions wrong at rounds this morning, sat alone at lunch earlier, and any time anything came out of her mouth, attendings seemed to look at her funny. And the day was about to get worse. A handsome intern with his head in a chart was leaving a patient's room, oblivious to the peanut M&M's bouncing around on the floor, waiting to take him down. _

"_Watch out," April screamed, from her spot on the floor._

_Startled, the guy looked down, dodging candies on his way to April. Wordlessly, he reached out his hand. She accepted it automatically. When she stood up and really looked in his face, she was startled by his extraordinary eyes, so green they took her breath away for a second. "Whoa," she said as she lost her balance slightly, a peanut M&M caught under her foot. Green eyes steadied her again._

"_Thanks…?" She let her voice trail in question, hoping he'd fill in the blank._

"_Jackson."_

"_April Kepner. Avery, right? You're Dr. Avery?"_

_Jackson rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, yes."_

"_Oh, sorry I…"_

"_You have nothing to be sorry for. It's just…it's been a long day, I've gotten a lot of stares today, and this shift is buy-one-get-one-free."_

"_Maybe they were just staring because…" She stopped herself, blushing. _

"_What?" Jackson grinned._

_Because your eyes, she was going to say. Because you have extraordinary eyes. Instead, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, before doing this," she was kneeling on the ground again, picking up the potentially lethal candy, "I stumbled over every question at rounds."_

_Jackson ran down the hall, after an M&M. "Well, at least you still have some of these left," he said, handing her the bag, still a quarter full of candy. April gave a small, embarrassed smile and a shrug. "Hey…you should get down to the basement when you get the chance, there's a spare room Percy and I just found. And that girl Reed, the really loud, obnoxious one? You should come, give us a break from her. Are you just charting now?"_

"_Until I get paged, yeah."_

"_Well come on, hang out, you must need an escape from that Jacobs asshole, we all do."_

_April chuckled, following Jackson down the hall. "OK, thanks."_

_Jackson raised his eyebrows. "Don't thank me until you meet Reed," he said, leading her down a staircase._

"_M&M? Unless…Oh, sorry, are you allergic to peanuts?"_

_Jackson smiled, intrigued by the uptight quiet girl with the hazel eyes in spite of himself. "Nah, thanks but…I'm more of a Skittles guy."_

"Jackson, are you crazy, don't do that, she can't have that!" He had poured the Skittles all over Arabella's high chair tray.

"Relax, babe, she's not getting anything, she won't eat." He turned to his daughter, handed her a fork with a piece of chicken nugget on it. "Eat, Bellie, eat."

Arabella picked up a Skittle from her tray, put it to Jackson's lips. "Dada eeee!" He laughed, eating the Skittle and pretending to chomp at her fingers, making her giggle.

"Your turn, open." His tone was firm as he picked up the fork she'd discarded. She listened.

"Babe relax, don't force her, they say don't force her. Your tone, Geez."

"She only eats when you force her April. And she knows exactly what she's doing. You gotta stop being so soft with her, she's gonna be a big sister soon."

"She's not even 18 months, Jackson…"

"I know how old she is, and how stubborn."

"I wonder where she gets it from…Open Bella, sweet potatoes, yummy." Bella closed her mouth, tightly. "Geez, she is your daughter. So difficult. I said open, baby."

"Mom 'pen," she said, picking up another Skittle, this time putting it to April's lips.

April smiled and opened her mouth, placing a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Did you have a good day with daddy today? What did you do, princess? Open, please?" Arabella shook her head.

"Geez, you suck at bad cop. Open, Arabella. Now." The baby listened, opening her mouth wide for three bites. "See, that's how you handle an Avery baby. I know. I was one."

"What did you do with her today?"

"Oh, you know….went to that music class, threw a fit, ate lunch, threw a fit…"

"She doesn't throw fits with me."

"That's because you give her everything."

"She's my baby, I can't help it. But I hope this one only has your eyes, not your personality, you guys exhaust me. I need a Kepner soul around here soon." She rubbed her belly.

"Geeez, love you too, sweetheart."

"Oh please, I love you both so much." She kissed her daughter, lifting her sweet potato-filled face from the high chair, and then kissed Jackson.

Jackson picked Skittles off the high-chair tray, eating them. "Did you ever think, on that day what was it, like 10 years ago already, that you'd we'd be here, together, raising this little brat?" He took the baby from April. "Yeah you're a brat, I said it." He kissed her forehead. "Are you ready to do it 3 more times?"

"Whoa Skittles guy, hold up. Three more times? You get one more after this one, and maaaybe if you don't get your boy, one more after that. All you have to do in this deal after the fun part is roll over."

"Oh, that's all huh? Nothing after the little monster comes out?" He tickled Arabella's tummy, making her giggle.

"Whatever. My body can only handle a couple more, I'm serious."

"Ok, we'll see."

April rolled her eyes. "Five kids. She must have really driven you literally crazy today."

"Maybe, but she does balance the sour with a lot of sweet. We Avery's do that. I love her, still…" He flipped the baby around, tossed her in the air. "Love, love, love." She snuggled into his chest when he caught her.

"Lub, lub, lub." she cooed, yawning and closing her eyes against his chest.

"See, five of these wouldn't be so bad," Jackson whispered.

"You have lost it…I swear. Although…"

"What, say it."

"Nothing…it's just…"

"What?"

"I just…I know they'd have extraordinary eyes."


	14. Baby Steps

**Someone asked for Bellie finding out she's going to be a big sister. With all of Bellie's language, she might be a little advanced. Forgive me, I tried. Day 78.**

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><p>"Dada's home! Are we so excited? We're so excited. Maybe he has presents, huh? Let's go see if he has presents."<p>

Arabella nodded, putting a Cheerio in her mouth and holding her hands out to April, who lifted her out of the high chair. "Rents." She rested her head on her mother's shoulder as they headed to the living room.

"Daddy, did you get us presents, today?" she asked, kissing his cheek.

"Yes I did!" he answered, taking the baby from April. He rolled his eyes at his wife. "Can we just give daddy a second to breathe, though? Geez."

"Sorry, she's been saying 'mama big' all day. We can't put it off any more Jackson, I've officially popped too much to hide. I tried for you, babe. But I'm six months. She'll get it. What do you want? I can't just pop her out with no warning."

"Pop. Pop. Pop."

"That's right baby. Mama popped."

"Mama big pop."

"You are way too smart. How did you get so smart?" Jackson asked, tickling her and kissing her cheek. But to April, he said nervously, "She's going to f-r-e-a-k o-u-t…."

"You have to d-e-a-l with it. You're the one that tells me I'm too n-i-c-e." Jackson was petrified to tell Arabella April was pregnant. Even though he was definitely the "bad cop" of the two, she was still his princess, and very spoiled, he couldn't help himself. It was pointless to tell her before now, anyway. But she noticed the tummy, there was no turning back.

"I got your book, and your d-o-l-l, I looked like an idiot on the Barnes & Noble line, tonight."

"I'm sure you just looked like the best dad. Wash up for dinner and then we'll do it. OK? R-e-l-a-x sweetheart." He raised his eyebrows at her, taking his daughter into the bathroom with him to wash up. He wanted to protect her from the pop as long as possible.

"Look Arabella, daddy got you a baby, do you wanna hold your baby?" April passed the doll to her daughter, who was sitting on Jackson's lap. She promptly threw it on the floor.

"No beebee, no."

"Hey, we don't do that to the baby, we treat babies nice and gentle. I didn't throw you on the floor, when you were a baby," Jackson grumbled, picking the doll up and eying April, who looked lost. "Look, daddy's gonna hold the baby and give kisses. Help me give kisses, Bellie." He kissed the top of the doll's head, but she ignored him, shaking her head. Neither Jackson nor April knew what to do, at this point.

"Did you touch mommy's tummy all day today? It's big, right?"

Arabella nodded. "Big pop."

"Well, there's a baby inside my tummy, Bellie. Mommy, Daddy and Arabella are going to have a baby join our family." April tried. She read all the books on how to do it, the right words to say, everything. But of course Arabella was going to go full on Avery stubborn in this moment. She was proud that her daughter was so smart, but right now she was too smart for her own good.

"Daddy feels the baby and gives her kisses all the time, see? Kiss the baby Arabella, look. Say 'hi baby.' He lifted April's shirt and kissed her belly. April moved close so the baby could reach.

But Bellie was not playing this game. "No hi." She began hitting April's bump with her tiny hands. She started to cry.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, huh? We don't hit anyone, ever. You know that." Jackson turned her around so he was looking in her eyes. April left the room, not wanting to cause a distraction. She didn't understand why she was so surprised by her daughter's behavior all the time. She was clearly an Avery baby, born to get revenge for her namesake; from the moment that middle name was on the birth certificate.

"Are you feeling sad, Arabella? Use your words."

"Yeah, sad." She nodded her head against her father's chest.

"I'm sorry you're sad, Bellie. But we don't hit when we're sad. You made mommy sad."

"Mommy no sad, no."

"Yes she is, she left the room. She's sad you hit your baby sister."

"Bellie beebee."

"No, you're not. You're gonna be a big sister now."

"No big, no no."

Jackson chuckled. He couldn't help it. She always made him laugh. "Not right now, huh? I guess you're right." She kissed his cheek, snuggling close.

"Mama back."

"Oh you want mama back now, huh? You gonna say sorry?"

"Bellie so-ree."

"Hey mama, come back here, please."

April entered, and Jackson could tell she'd been crying. Between Bella and the baby, her emotions were going crazy. "What's up?"

"Bellie, what do you want to say to mama?"

"Bellie so-ree," she sniffled, looking at her mother. "Lub you."

"That's OK, Bellie. I love you." She accepted her daughter's hug, as Bellie crawled on her lap.

She touched her mommy's tummy. "Beebee?" she asked her dad.

"Yeah. Baby. What do you say to the baby?"

"Hi, beebee." Jackson tried not to laugh again, that wasn't what he was going for.

"But you hit baby, Bellie, what do you say when you hit?"

"So-ree, beebee, lub you." On her own, she lifted April's shirt and kissed her belly.

"That's nice Arabella, thank you." April smiled. Avery's always came around; they just made you wait awhile.

"Daddy bought you a book, you want to read a Bears book about their new baby? You love the bears!" Jackson asked playing with his daughter's hair.

"No beers, no no."

April giggled at her daughter's words. "Not now, too soon, huh," Jackson asked. "Baby steps?"

Bellie nodded. "Beebee seps," she giggled as her parents launched a tickle attack on her, distracting her as Jackson carried her off to bed. She was a diva, no doubt about it. But she was their diva.


	15. Stupid Decisions

**Day 92. Someone asked for April's nose job story. **

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><p>April turned as much as she could and reached for Jackson, but all she felt next to her was a bunch of pillows. She sat up, confused. It was definitely Sunday fun day, the one Sunday a month that April agreed to stay home from church. They would sleep late, have sex, and then wake Bellie up and have breakfast in bed as a family. Then, they'd do something fun together, all three of them. Sometimes a puppet show, or a movie, or a children's museum.<p>

But that sex. She's come to count on it like clockwork, every third Sunday of the month, especially while she was pregnant. He'd wake her up with kisses on her neck, or sometimes other places, and they took their time. She loved her daughter, but this part, this was her favorite part of the day. And Jackson was nowhere to be found.

April yawned, falling back on her pillows. She just wasn't ready to get out of bed yet. But she smiled as Jackson came into the room, holding a breakfast tray, Bellie toddling next to him. "Say good morning, mama." Jackson smiled, placing the tray on the side table next to the bed and kissing his wife.

"Goo morn, mom." Jackson lifted Bellie up to the bed. "Mom!" she squealed again when she saw April's face, crawling to her and putting her hands on her cheeks.

"Arabella, good morning. You got to daddy before I did today, huh?"

Jackson shrugged, apologetically. "She was awake and shaking the bars. Little monkey." He tickled her, and her sweet little giggles filled the room.

"Mon-kee."

"What does a monkey say, Bellie?" To Jackson, she whispered, "You owe me later, buddy."

"Oo Ooo Ahh Ahh."

"You're so smart, big girl." April kissed her daughters forehead, cringing and waiting for the standard response.

"No, no no big gur-l."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "C'mon, say good morning to your sister. Good morning Tenley." Jackson grabbed April's 8-month pregnant belly and placed a big kiss right in the middle.

Arabella did the same. She was OK with the fact that there was a baby in the pop, just not that she was a big girl, at all. "Goo morn, Tene."

April reached for her breakfast tray, mouth dropping as she saw its contents. "Did my waffle lovers actually make us French toast for breakfast? I'm so excited!"

"Tell mommy, did Bellie help daddy cook strawberry sugar french toast?"

"Mmmm hmm sperry shu-gar."

"Yeah, you put the strawberries and sugar on there, big girl. Do you wanna be a chef or a doctor when you grow up?" Jackson asked, cutting his daughter's food.

"Doc-or." They already had her trained the traditional Avery way. Whenever anyone asked her what she wanted to be, as long as she had the choice, she picked doctor.

"That's my girl. Here, Bella, feed yourself. Yummy!" He handed her the fork and she took her first ever bite of French toast.

"Yum!" She nodded seriously at both of her parents.

"Yum! Yum!" April moved close to her daughter, so they were almost touching noses. "Glad you finally found something you like to eat, diva. Let's do your body parts baby. Where are daddy's ears, Arabella, pull daddy's ears!"

Arabella reached behind her and pulled her father's ear, bored already. "Ear." she said, mouth full of French toast.

"Good job princess! Close mommy's eyes, Bellie, where are they?"

Arabella reached across her tray, closing her mother's eyes. "Eyes."

"Good girl. Kiss daddy's cheek for me, where's his cheek?"

"Keek!" Arabella giggled, kissing her father's cheek.

"Steal mommy's nose, smart girl!"

April backed away from her daughter's hand. "Oh no, we don't touch mommy's nose, Bellie, but I'm gonna steal yours." April reached over and stole her daughter's nose. "I got it!"

"Heey!" Arabella giggled, hand over her nose.

Jackson was grateful his daughter was oblivious to the fact that the mood in the room had suddenly changed. He kissed her cheek. "Daddy's gonna get it back back for you, sweet girl, you just eat up all your French toast, OK?"

"Ok. Daddy gid it."

Jackson went around the bed and sat next to April. He knew she had a rhinoplasty when she was younger. She had told him it was because some girls bullied her, but she never went into detail about it.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember a time where he'd ever kissed or touched her nose. He was usually busy concentrating on other parts of her body. He tried to kiss it now, but she pulled away again. "I wasn't kidding, Jackson."

"Baby, you had a rhinoplasty, so what?"

"I don't talk about it, I don't think about it, no one touches it, OK?"

"Not OK. I want to be able to kiss every part of your body, no rules. You have a pretty nose, April."

Arabella nodded, chewing strawberries. "Pretty nose, Apil."

Both of them suddenly remembered their daughter was in the room. "Bellie, you're eating so well, sweetheart, mama's so happy."

"Sperrys." Arabella smiled and flashed those gorgeous Avery eyes.

"Yeah, you and daddy love strawberries, I know."

"Baby, please tell me the story, please."

April sighed, playing with Jackson's fingers. "In high school, I was best friends with Dana Claybourne. Well, I wasn't, but I thought I was. She was the coolest girl in school and I idolized her. I thought she was giving me advice about boys and fashion and everything, but really it was criticism masked as advice. Except when she talked about my nose. That was just plain bullying. She told me it was big, and ugly. And called me all of these awful names, worse than Duckie. And she told me that if only my nose wasn't so hideous, Brant Adams might ask me out…"

"Mmm..I don't like this, I've never heard that guy's name before."

"Neber." Arabella shook her head.

"Never. That's a good new word, baby. Drink your juice, please." Jackson handed her a sippy cup, watched her drink.

"So, I convinced my parents it was totally for myself, worked hard, and got my nose job. Then Dana dared me to ask Brant out, and when I did, he literally laughed in my face. Didn't say a word, just laughed. There, that's it. That's why I hate my nose. I said I did it because of bullying, but I really did it for a boy. And it failed. And it helped me make my decision to commit to my purity ring. And to go to med school. And not let a boy cloud my mind like that ever again. But I failed at that, too."

"Excuse me miss board certified trauma surgeon, last time I checked I was your husband and I was the only guy you'd slept with, that is not failing."

April waved his comment away. "Anyway, I hate my nose. Not so much how it looks, that's whatever. I hate thinking about it. I hate bringing attention to it. It's just a reminder of when I made stupid decisions for other people, not for myself."

"So, now you just make stupid decisions for yourself."

"Exactly. I have been fully committed to every other stupid personal decision I have made since then. I did it because I wanted to."

"That's good to know, sweetheart." He kissed her.

"Sorry that I ever made you feel differently."

"That's ancient history, April. And your nose job should be too. I'm so honored that you've made the choices you did after that, babe, really. If not for them, we might not have met. And you have no good reason not to let your daughter touch it. Think about how that will effect her in the future, seeing you so insecure about it. I'm so thankful you got that nose job. And I'm gonna kiss your nose now. And you aren't gonna stop me." She rolled her eyes, but let him.

"Here baby, I got your nose back." Jackson pulled his daughter back on his lap, thumbing her nose.

"Danks, dad."

"Welcome, Bellie. Hey, kiss mommy's nose, where's her nose?"

Bellie leaned in, and this time April accepted a tiny kiss on her nose. "Thank you, big girl. I love you."

"No, no, no big."

"Yes, big. Do you wanna go to the aquarium today to see the fishies? Only big girls go there."

"No, no no mom."

"Yeah, Bella. She's right. We're gonna go see the turtles and the dolphins without you and be sad."

"No sad, toast." Arabella put her fork up to her father's mouth and he laughed, accepting it and kissing the tip of her nose.


	16. Other Women

**Day 80. Another favorite. Jackson goes overboard when April has a pregnancy craving. **

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><p>"Hi lovie," Jackson walked in to kitchen and straight to his daughter in her high chair, kissing her forehead.<p>

"Lubie," Arabella repeated, giggling. Her hands and mouth were full of mashed peaches that she was feeding herself.

"Yeah, go ahead, be a lovie for daddy," April groaned, rolling her eyes. She was 8-months pregnant and over it. God forgive her, she was also over her daughter's picky eating habits. She would only eat peaches today, and she insisted on feeding herself, and was purposefully throwing them all over the place.

Jackson went over to kiss her cheek, but April backed away. "Whoa, hey. I know we're in the home stretch, I know we're cranky. But I come bearing edible gifts."

"_We're_ in the home stretch? We're cranky? When were you ever pregnant in this deal?"

Jackson was feeling extra patient today. He ignored her. "Come on, I'll feed this monster and you eat, I got you truffle mac n' cheese, babe." April grabbed one of the boxes from the middle of the table, not even bothering to say thank you. She was starving, and had been craving mac n' cheese for days now. She thought Jackson was just ignoring her.

"Oh my god, Jackson this is amazing. This is the best mac n' cheese I've ever…where did you say you got it from?"

"Uh, I didn't…" Jackson cleared his throat, trying to busy himself with feeding Arabella via airplane.

"Jackson, where'd you get the mac and cheese, geez?"

"Macheesie me!" Bellie screamed, at her dad.

"Macheesie you, huh? You gonna eat it like a big girl?" She nodded, smiling and giving him the Avery eyes. 19-months old and she knew the Avery eyes. He was doomed. To April, he said, "Oh Harper has this friend," he tried to be nonchalant about it.

"Harper's friend, huh? Where from?"

"Santa Monica, I had him fly it over to me. It's the best mac n' cheese in the country." Jackson busied himself with trying to avoid the truffle on a forkful for Arabella. The rest was so good, even she might eat it. And she asked for it, so, as far as he was concerned, she was swallowing a bite, like it or not.

April knew for Averys, best meant most expensive. "How much does this plate of food cost Jackson? Don't try to beat around the bush with me tonight, I'm not in the mood."

"Uhh $95, and I bought 5, Harper threw in the shipping cost, sends his love." He tried to get it over with fast, rip the band-aid off.

"Macheesie me dad," Arabella begged and giggled as he lifted the fork in the air.

"Don't you dare feed my daughter a $95 bite of mac n' cheese, Jackson Harper…"

Jackson froze the fork mid-air, but then decided against it. "I'll feed my daughter whatever I want, April. And relax, this bite was a dollar, at the mooost." He zoomed the airplane bite in her mouth and she smiled, swallowing.

"Macheesie me gn, dad."

"Oh great, start her with expensive taste before she hits the terrible twos, just what I need."

Jackson ignored April, he refused to be punished for getting her a gift. "Macheesie ME!" He took a bite in his baby's face, making her squeal in delight and grab his cheeks.

"Macheesie Mom," she giggled, in his face.

April got up from the table. "Mom's not playing. Macheesie you three more times and then it's time to go nite-nite."

"No, no no nite-nite."

"Yes, yes yes, trust me, you don't wanna be up for tonight's party. Open up. One. Say it Belliie."

"Un." She opened her mouth wide, for "Two" and "Ree" and didn't even protest when he lifted her out of the high chair.

"Mama, come out, it's time for nite-nite." Jackson screamed toward the bedroom at April.

"She doesn't have to do it tonight, Jackson, I'm tired. I'll say goodnight when you've got her in the crib."

"She absolutely has to say goodnight to every single member of this family every night, April. Consistency. You love it."

April dragged herself out of bed and to the living room. "Nite-nite Bellie, mommy loves you."

"Nite-nite mom. Lub you." She kissed April on the lips and looked expectantly at Jackson.

"No silly, not the whole thing, we're gonna read the bears, then give kisses, you know who's next."

Arabella shook her head. "You go. Kiss."

Jackson rolled his eyes, but obliged. "Nite-nite Bellie, daddy loves you."

"Nite-nite, Bellie lub you," she kissed her dad.

"OK, now you know who's next…"

"Mommy daddy kissees."

"Not tonight, diva, what's after that?" Jackson rolled his eyes at his wife's immaturity in that moment. It almost startled him it was so unlike her. They fought over dinner, not who kept the beach house in the divorce.

He lifted his daughter high over his head and suspended her like a monkey over April's baby bump, hoping to distract her. "Jackson, stop that. She's gonna get sick. She's gonna throw up the precious mac n' cheese that you got her."

But Bellie Avery was no fool anyway. "NO, NO, NO! Mommy Daddy." Jackson picked Arabella up and kissed the cheek April offered. But Arabella wanted consistency. "gnn, gnn," she said.

Jackson leaned close to April and gave her a proper kiss. She didn't exactly kiss back, but he felt her succumb to it a little bit, open her mouth. She let out the tiniest sound, like she'd make repositioning herself in her sleep, but Jackson knew what it meant. She wanted that kiss. "Yum," April whispered.

"Yum," Jackson whispered back. And their daughter, oblivious to the tension, giggled like she always did. Like her parents were just silly.

"OK, who's next Bellie?" April cradled her bump.

"No, no, no."

"Bellie, I'm tired, you're a big girl, come on, or else no bears tonight."

"No big. Bears."

"If you want bears who do you say nite-nite to?"

"Nite-nite Tene, Bellie lub you." Jackson lowered her down to kiss the bump and did the same. "Goodnight, Tenley, we love you."

"I had the rest of that plate of mac n' cheese, it was delicious," April said, 20 minutes later when Jackson had finally gotten Bellie to sleep.

"And this is the part where thank you comes in…"

"I'm not thanking you for that, that was ridiculous."

"It was a gift, April."

"A ridiculous gift."

"Do you want me to apologize for being thoughtful? For having money? For thinking this would make you happy? For being able to take care of you in ways you'd never dreamed of? Because I won't apologize for any of that. We gotta stop fighting over these money things. Geez, April…other women would…"

"Oh, don't even go there Jackson, what? Suck your dick everyday to have this life? I think you get it enough."

"Babe! What is wrong with you tonight? You need to relax, sweetheart, really. $500 is like nothing to me. Literally. I spent only that, because I was talking to Harper last night. And you were telling Bellie 'Mommy wants mac' n cheese,' and she said 'mommy want macheesie," and it made me laugh. And he asked why I was laughing. And I told him. And he said I should get you Christopher's, but I should buy it so it was from me, and he'd just ship it. He was in a good mood last night, I agreed. There. All the details of yet another Avery screw up. This one was well intentioned I swear."

"It's not an Avery screw up babe, except on my side. I'm sorry. And I love you."

"I love you too," he said, curling up next to her, and wrapping his arms around her, tight. "But you have to understand what I mean when I say I can take _care_ of you. I mean it. I mean that no matter how many children we have, they all can go to Harvard, good grades or not, because I can donate a library. And Bellie can crash five Porshes. I mean, we could go to Hawaii tomorrow, if we wanted to…You can live whatever life you want, do you understand?"

April nodded. "We can. Together." She looked back at him, kissed his neck. "But Jackson, I want my kids to earn everything."

"My grandfather worked hard for his family. And my mother worked hard to prove that she deserved her name. And I do, everyday. And you deserve it most of all, you've melted every ice-cold heart in my family. Plus you run the tightest ER Harper Avery has ever seen. Trust me. Our children will earn everything they have."

"Ok, I trust you."

"Will you do something else for me, then?" April nodded.

"Sometime this week, will you buy yourself hundreds and hundreds of feet of yarn, or something? Just because you can. You need to splurge on something for yourself."

"I love you, so much." She kissed him, deeply, making up for the bedtime kiss behavior.

"What'd I do to deserve that?"

"You told me to go get yarn. Other guys assume that all women want are shoes and clothes."

"But you're not like other women, babe. You're so much better."

"How much?" she asked, propping herself up against pillows. "Show me." These pregnancy hormones were so crazy. Two hours ago she didn't want him to touch her, and suddenly he couldn't rip their clothes off fast enough for her.


	17. Daddy's Turn

**Day 106. The prompt was April going into labor while shopping for baby things. **

* * *

><p>"Tene dis!" Arabella reached out her hands to the shelf next to her, for a doll.<p>

"No, Arabella Tenley doesn't want that, you do, sweet girl, but we're not here to get toys, OK? We're here to get a few more outfits her because your dad is too good for hand-me-downs," April sighed but smiled to herself.

It _was_ nice not to have to worry about money. And to have a husband who could take care of her, no matter what. She was able to work because she loved it, and have babies whenever she wanted. They would never struggle. But moments like this, buying extra onsies, even though she had a whole set of designer baby clothes at home, made her shake her head. She'd learned to pick her battles with Jackson, though. And shopping for baby clothes _was _fun.

Bellie let out her reliable giggle at hearing her favorite word. "Dad!"

"Yeah, your daddy. We wish he was off this week, don't we?" She suddenly felt a strong contraction. "Oh…ok maybe we wish he was here right now, definitely." April rubbed her belly. "Hold on about a half hour Tenley girl, please." To Bellie, "Hey, Bellie thank you for walking like a big girl today, and holding mommy's hand."

"Mmmhmmm. Mommy tied."

"Yes. Mommy's so tired right now we have to get out of the store fast, OK? We can't look at the toys anymore."

"Ok." The diva was difficult at times, but she had a very good sense of other people's moods. Especially her mom's.

April stopped in the middle of the aisle, letting go of Bellie's hand for a second to breathe through a quick contraction. Immediately the toddler began to cry. "Mommy's fine sweetheart. Tenley's coming soon and she's just kickin' and kickin' on my belly."

As soon as they reached the checkout, though, explaining got a little harder. April's water broke. "Mommy pee pee."

"No sweetheart, the baby's coming, but we're just going to call daddy right now because mommy can't drive." The staff was very kind, cleaning up the mess and getting her a chair to sit in. One was even coloring with Arabella as April dialed Jackson.

"April, what's wrong?" Catherine Avery's voice was drenched with concern on the other line.

"Catherine…is Jackson there? My water broke and I'm at the baby boutique downtown…"

"He's in a surgery, but I'm going to page him right away and I'm gonna come get you, OK? You just stay calm; I'm on my way. You are not giving birth in that store, I promise."

"OK." Thank god Catherine had come to help out a week before April was due. But, she wasn't about to sit around doing nothing, waiting for April to give birth. And, everyone thought she had three days to go. So, of course Catherine was at Grey-Sloan, manning Jackson's cell phone. April's contractions got worse and she couldn't help let out a little squeak of pain. Arabella looked at her, scared. "Nana's coming to pick us up, isn't that exciting Bellie?"

"Tell Nana, what's your favorite song to sing, sing a song for mommy." April was desperately trying to distract Arabella from her pain, and take her own mind off it as they sat stuck in traffic.

"Bits-y sid-r." Arabella whimpered, near tears as she watched her mom go through another contraction. She had insisted that April sit in the back with her.

"Oh Bella, we can sing that for mom so easy, right? The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.." As Catherine sang with Bellie and April tried to smile through it and contractions, she also admired what a great Nana Catherine was. She was very loving, of course, and more affectionate than she was ever with her son. But she also had a very calming know-how when it came to grandmotherly duties. Without her, both Bellie and April would be starting at the floor of the baby boutique, crying right now.

"Mommy ouch." Arabella cried, looking at April right after the song was over, tears streaming down her face. April tried to smile through another contraction, not sure what to say anymore. She'd been trying to play off the pain but clearly that wasn't working.

"Yes, mommy has pain because Tenley's coming soon, and we have 2 more minutes til we get to the hospital. We have to help mommy."

"Ha to," Arabella nodded seriously in agreement.

"What can we do to help you mommy?" Catherine asked, as if this were a normal situation.

April knew she had to involve her daughter. Arabella was smart and not going to buy too much more bullshit. "When Bellie was coming out and giving mommy ouchies daddy gave mommy kissies all over her face." She didn't bother to add that she'd only let him see the last hour of labor, of course "Can you do that, Bellie? Give mommy's face lots of kissies."

Arabella pouted. "Bellie no ouch." But then nodded seriously. When April had her next contraction she announced it, and Bellie did her job, kissing her mom's forehead and cheek, that she could reach. And it really did help April with the pain. Putting the energy into praising Arabella helped at least distract her.

Jackson was waiting for them with a wheelchair when they actually got to Grey-Sloan 20 minutes later, but Bellie threw a fit when April tried to get out of the car.

"Mommy has to go get Tenley out of my tummy now. You did such a good job helping mommy's ouch but it's daddy's turn now big girl."

"No big. No daddy. Bellie kissies." It was the first time she had ever willingly expressed any negativity toward Jackson that wasn't related to discipline. April was surprised.

"Hi sweet girl," Jackson came around the other side of the car to talk to Bellie. Catherine stayed in the front seat, quiet. She generally tried to stay out of immediate family business unless it was clear she was needed. "Thank you for taking such good care of your mommy today, while I was working." Bellie nodded, damn sure she did a good job. "You gotta let mommy go without crying, OK? You did such a good job giving kissies, Nana told me, but the doctor needs to check on mommy now." Arabella saw April's face wince in pain and kissed her cheek again, over and over until she saw April calm. "You're such a good girl, Bellie, but it's daddy's turn now. You go play with Nana and I'll bring you back to meet your sister as soon as I can, big girl."

"No no no big!" Arabella squealed, but she finally let April's hand go without throwing a wild fit.

In the maternity hall of the hospital, finally away from her daughter, April let out the loudest scream she could muster when her next contraction began. Immediately, she felt Jackson's lips on hers. "What are you doing?" April breathed, exhausted.

"I'm kissing your ouchies before you kick me out, this time. It's my turn."

"Oh, you missed enough of this one, buddy. Don't worry, you're staying right there."


	18. Change

**Day 66. The Prompt was basically Japril talking about a house. **

* * *

><p>"Mama! Mama!<p>

"Shh, mama's sleeping. She had a long day. She's tired."

"Oh, but I'm never too tired for my Bellie girl…come here!" April said, opening her eyes as Jackson walked in with the toddler, whose arms immediately outstretched toward her mother. "Look at you, all pretty in your big sister shirt and your pink tutu, did nana get you dressed this morning?"

"No, no, no." Arabella shook her head vigorously into her mother's chest.

"No, you learned how to dress yourself in a day? Wow!" April laughed.

"No, no, no, you said the 'B' word." Jackson rolled his eyes.

April groaned, giving her husband a defeated, desperate look. "Still?" And to her daughter, "Hey Bellie, did you read with nana this morning? Did you read the bears?"

Bellie nodded at her mother. "Mmmmhmmm, bears."

"Brother bear and sister bear get a new baby sister just like Bellie."

"No, no, no. Bellie baby."

"I know, big girl, I know. It's so hard to grow up. You are too smart. What did you do with daddy today?" She kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Did you go drop nana off and see planes?"

"Horsies."

"You saw a horse at the airport?" April turned to Jackson. "Liike the ones the police ride?"

Jackson smirked. "I believe she meant to say houses."

"You went to see houses?" April raised her eyebrows.

"Yup. The one I showed you yesterday."

"You mean in between contractions? You thought I was actually looking? Seriously?"

"Babe, you liked that one close to the lake, remember? I showed you that a week ago?"

"The million dollar mansion with the eight bedrooms, four of which we'll never need, if I can help it?"

"You mean one we won't use, which we can turn into whatever you want?"

"One? One? Are you crazy? I just pushed out another one of your kids, not even 24 hours ago and you're planning four more? Slow down, Jackson. For awhile, can we just slow this train down?"

"Oh, oh." Arabella put her hand out toward Jackson, imitating her mother.

"That's right baby, slow down, slooow down." April tickled her daughter's tummy.

"April, you know we need a house and…it has that huge yard where the girls can run, and maybe one day I can teach my son catch." April gave him the look. "Or the girls, or just my two beautiful girls." He sat on the bed, pecking his wife's lips.

"We need a house, so it has to be a mansion?"

"April, we're Averys…you do realize that's like a Kennedy in the medical world? Everything we do is watched."

April rolled her eyes. "Everything we do is watched," she mocked. "So, you want a mansion just because it's expected of you? What about this marriage is expected?"

"Speaking of unexpected, where's my baby girl?"

"Bellie baby," Arabella whined.

"No, princess you aren't the baby anymore. Jackson, what aren't you telling me?"

"April, where's the baby?"

"Arizona took her so I could sleep. Spit it out, daddy."

"Pit, daddy." Bella laughed.

"You tell him. Say 'Spit it out, daddy."

He went to kiss her again, but she pulled away, eyes wide. "Jackson Harper…"

"I bought it, I bought the house," Jackson said it quickly, looking away.

"No…no….no…." It was all April could say, blinking at her husband.

"No, no, no, no, no no, no." Sensing the tension between her parents, Arabella started to cry.

"What, no. No tears. Big girls don't cry." April kissed her daughter's forehead.

"No big. No big. No."

"Tell mommy what you had today, for dessert, hmm? Frozen yogurt? What flavor?"

"Woow, did daddy get you frozen yogurt princess, what kind?"

Arabella sniffled. "Nelly yo, yo."

"Nelly yo yo hmm? Was it yummy?"

"Yeah, yummy." She snuggled close to her mom.

"No toppings, right?" April eyed her husband.

"No, April I'm not dumb." She shot him a skeptical look. "So, are we gonna get Tenley and make this happen, it needs to, she's a big sister now, she has to meet her, it will be fine."

"You know what, maybe these girls are not ready for change right this second, Jackson."

"April, you liked the house, it's the only one you liked. We need to move, you know that. Soon. And they showed it to me before it was on the market and, I felt like I had to jump on it. Babe. I'm sorry."

April closed her eyes. "Jackson, I don't wanna talk about it right now. I just want to sleep. Bellie, you wanna take a nap with mommy? Just a nap, OK? Then you have to meet your sister." Arabella nodded, clinging to her mother's neck.

"April. Don't do that. You know she won't sleep, babe. Let me just get Tenley. And then I'll change her into PJs, and you both can sleep all night, OK? I'll bring the baby and we can all stay in here."

"No, no, no baby. Mommy Bellie seep," Arabella squealed, turning her head to face her father. She started to cry again. April kissed her daughter.

"I know baby, you're sad. Growing up is tough. But you will always be mommy's baby."

"Seriously, April, we've spent months prepping her for this and now you're just going to give in to her?"

"Give in? Jackson, she's scared. Change is hard. She's a baby. She's not even two."

"She's more than halfway there, April. She has a sister. It happened. She's a big girl and she should deal with it."

"No one asked her, Jackson, just give her time. Give us an hour. Geez."

"Mommy, Bellie, seep." Bella yelled again, kissing her mommy's cheek.

"Thank you, Bellie. Close your eyes, mommy's gonna sleep, too." She stroked her daughter's hair. She turned to Jackson. "You heard the girl, let us get our beauty sleep."

"Alright, babe," Jackson stood up, placing a kiss on his wife's forehead. "I'm gonna go find the one little lady who loves me right now."

"We love you, always. You just gotta give us time when you change our lives so much." Jackson got the message. He'd have to call the jeweler after he visited Tenley. He had a lot of apologies to make after today.


	19. Leçons D'anatomie

**I guess this verges on M a little...I rated this story T so...there's your warning. Day 103. Someone asked me to fill in a part of the story that I only alluded to in an earlier prompt. That's all I'll say. **

"Come on, babe. It's five there and the girls just got in today. They're probably eating dinner and feeding Tenley and perfectly fine. You promised me this week, you would relax more. Nicole is with them, helping. Let's just relax. Let's just stay in this beautiful bed and eat these amazing éclairs and visit with each other, tonight, and maybe tomorrow. Forget about the girls for 20 hours. I dare you. Not even a day." Jackson gave April his best puppy dog eyes.

They were in Paris, staying at the best hotel Jackson could find, the Hôtel Fouquet, for a honeymoon of sorts. Though they stayed in Lake Tahoe for a couple of days after their wedding, he never counted that. And then April was pregnant with Arabella and would not think of leaving her. But before Bellie was a year old, April was pregnant with Tenley. Jackson only got her to agree to leave her at 38-weeks because the girls were spending a week with each of their grandparents, and a nanny she trusted.

April bit her lip. "20 hours?" He nodded hesitant, but hopeful. "No, no. I can't. Sorry, I gotta know they're there, safe."

"You know, April. You know."

"Come on, tell me you don't miss her sweet little voice."

Jackson shook his head, defeated. "Of course I do. But I just heard it, yesterday." He handed over his phone.

"Hi mom, good thanks. Yeah we went to the Eiffel Tower today. And a pastry shop, and the ballet. Yeah, it's great. He's good, he dared me not to call you…yeah, yes please," she smiled brightly as her daughter came on the phone. "Bellie girl! How are you, love?" She put the phone on speaker for Jackson to hear.

"Mama! Bellie ride horsie."

"Oh my gosh, did you ride already, today, after the plane?"

"Yeah, plane wif Nic,"

"That's right, you went on a plane with Nicole today."

"Were you good, on the plane for Nicole, Bellie?"

Arabella erupted in a fit of giggles, hearing her father's voice. "My dad!" she squealed.

"Yeah, it's me diva. Were you good for Nicole, on the plane?"

"No, no, no. I cry."

"Nah I don't believe that, why did you cry?"

"Scared." Jackson saw April's face fall and reached for her hand.

"You weren't scared with dad on the plane, Bellie."

"No scared wif my dad."

"Well you're happy now right? What are you gonna eat for dinner, big girl?"

"Nuggie Fwen fwi." Bellie laughed.

"You love your nuggies Bellie, huh?" April laughed, feeling better hearing that little giggle.

"Yeah, mom. And pop pop."

"Nooo pop pop doesn't love nuggies, does he?" Arabella taught Jackson more about his grandfather than anyone else ever could.

"Yeah and Bellie."

"Of course he loves you, Bellie. What did pop pop teach you this time?"

"Fingies, toes flangies."

"That's right, your finger and toe bones are called phalanges! April, we have the smartest two-and-a-half year old ever."

"Yeah dad, I do smart ebeday."

"Yeah, you're my smart girl everyday. I'm glad pop pop and Nana took care of you in Boston. Go eat your nuggies now, OK? Give the phone to grandma so we can talk to Tenley."

"Tene no talk."

"We know baby, we still wanna say hi. Sweet dreams Bellie, you be good. Love you."

"Love you mom."

"Love you diva."

"Bye daddy."

April fell back on the bed when she hung up with her mom, exhausted. "Hey, that's not fair, I've been waiting all night to get you out of this dress and you're acting all tired. It's strapless…and I took you to the ballet," Jackson whined, kissing April's neck.

"Oh so I pay for the ballet with sex, is that how it is?" April laughed, raising her eyebrows.

"No, but you can say thank you for the ballet and the éclairs and the dinner with some sex, I wouldn't mind." He kissed across her collarbone.

"Oh babe. I'm sorry, but I'm so tired I can't even move my phalanges right now."

"Oh yeah? I think I can wake up vos doigts, mon amour."

April giggled, watching her husband place kisses down each of her fingers. "Your so sexy when you speak French, baby, see…boarding school taught you something."

"A bit, yes."

"Tell me more, honey. Where are you going next?" Suddenly, she was wide-awake.

"Mmmm vos bras et vous épaules." He kissed up her arms and across her shoulders. "Sur votre clavicule."

"Mmm…tell me more, Jackson. How do you say, 'take off my dress?'" She whispered the last part, sending a chill through his body.

"Enlever ma robe."

"Enlever ma robe."

"No."

"No? Rude."

Jackson chuckled, mischief in his eyes. "Tout d'abord, je vous baise les lèvres." He kissed her, slowly reaching over to undo her zipper.

"Mmmm….faster, go faster."

"Plus vite? Dire s'il vous plaît, Avril."

"Oh, this could get annoying."

"Say please, April."

"Please, enlever ma robe, now."

Jackson shrugged and finished unzipping the dress, sliding it off of her body in one motion. "Vous êtes si belle, ma chérie." He smiled, eyes devouring her lingerie. Tired or not, April vowed to always be ready, in Paris. Her red lace corset and thong matched the red dress Jackson had just thrown to the ground.

He got on his knees, unbuttoning his own shirt. She reached for his belt, but he moved away. "Attendez, l'amour. Wait, love."

She groaned in frustration, watching him undress, but even after sliding under covers and on top of her, he was removing her corset at a snail's pace. "Vous seins, beau." April gasped when he finally got it off and put his tongue to good use.

"Oh my…g…g..god…" She slid her thing down her body, knowing she wouldn't be able to take his torture much longer. "P in the V, Jackson, put the P in the V…"

"Quoi?"

April rolled her eyes, frustrated. "This game isn't fun anymore. Fuck me Jackson, fuck me right now!"

He smirked as he complied, instantly eliciting a moan. "Faisons un bébé à Paris," he whispered. April was too distracted to say no.


	20. Sun Mates

**Day 76. Jackson tells a patient how his view on soul mates changed **

"So, Marissa can I ask why you're seeking these surgeries? You're a great candidate, but I always like to get a little bit of the backstory. Plastic surgery is…well, it's important to go into it with a clear mind."

The patient bit her lip, hesitating. "Well…" she thumbed her fingers on the side of Jackson's desk.

"I need something Marissa, if you give me nothing, I can't go forward. Changing your body is actually psychologically a big deal. We're not just talking one procedure, here. You want a tummy tuck, liposuction and breast augmentation. That's a lot, why?"

"Definitely for myself…I mean, I wanna find someone, so…My ex, he said that if I got a tummy tuck he'd give me a ring and…" A lot of Jackson's patients were women, it was the nature of the specialty. He didn't turn down many patients, if he was honest. Some came to him, got it done through Grey-Sloan because he was an Avery, and if he built a reputation for turning people down, his grandfather, and mother for that matter, would be pissed.

Even though he always took Sloan's advice of telling them they were beautiful, usually saying they wanted to boost their self-esteem was enough for him. He wasn't a psychiatrist, after all. Though he did toy with the idea of the field, just to mess with Harper and Catherine. But when someone mentions an ex and a ring as reasons, well…he had to have a line.

"Marissa, can I be honest, here? We went over it in the exam room; you are slightly obese…nothing that diet and exercise can't change. I can set you up with a dietitian in the hospital, to help you do it…you don't…you shouldn't be coming to me because of a ring an ex-boyfriend said he'd give you. Obviously, he's not your soul mate…"

"All do respect, Dr. Avery, I'm 30. I'm not looking for a soul mate…I'm just looking for a husband."

"I get it…trust me. I was 32 when I got married and trust me, I wasn't even looking for a wife, let alone a soul mate…but then I…my wife was getting married to another guy and I was about to watch it happen and I just, I got this feeling like I wouldn't be able to live if I let her go through with it, if I didn't at least fight for her. Even when we decided to get married, I didn't…soul mate was not a word I'd use. I just knew I loved her. But…we've been married three years now, we have 2 kids and…I know. I know what a soul mate is, that they exist. They love you no matter what you look like, kiss you when you're sick, know the words you're gonna say before they come out of your mouth…they don't necessarily complete you, but they support you in everything you do to help you feel complete. It doesn't happen overnight, but it exists, and you definitely shouldn't settle for a guy who will only be with you if you get plastic surgery."

"Daddy! Mommy 'most barfed on Tene…" Arabella ran into the room, right to Jackson. April followed, pushing the stroller with the baby on her hip.

"Oh no! She did?"

"I'm sorry, can I just steal my husband for a second?" April asked Marissa, apologetically. She smiled and nodded. Jackson picked up Bella and followed her out of the office.

"Babe, I'm sorry. They're only in daycare til 5 today, but she's right. I've been puking all day," she whispered. "I have no idea why…I can…I can take them to Owen, see if he can look after them but…"

"No, it's alright. I'm just finishing up with Marissa and then I was gonna do paperwork. But…I'll take them to dinner. On one condition…"

April rolled her eyes. "I heard you talking in there, soul mates don't give conditions…"

"Oh, you did, huh?" He kissed her. "Do me a favor, then…"

"What…"

He grinned. "Take a test, please."

"You think…"

"I know…" he whispered close to her ear.

"Jackson Avery I swear, if I came home from Paris with a souvenir, I'm gonna…"

"You're gonna what?" Jackson laughed.

"The baby is 10 months, 10 months, and I let you talk me into a late honeymoon in Paris, how dumb. If I have a souvenir, I swear it would…"

"Be awesome."

She blushed. "It would, I guess. I do love carrying them."

"They look good on you, babe. Just take a test. I gotta go finish up."

"Fine. I love you, soul mate. See you at home." She kissed Tenley handing her over to Jackson. Bella reached out for her. "Be good for daddy maybe he'll take you for yo yo, Ok?"

"OK, mommy."

"Bye, hot mama," April smirked at her husband before walking out the door.

"Daddy, we get yo yo?" Arabella asked, when they were back in his office.

"Maybe. Hamburgers and yo yo. But let daddy talk to Marissa first, just a few more minutes. Go play with the castle, please…Sorry about this…"

"Don't worry about it…"

"Tene play?"

"No, daddy's gonna hold Tenley for now."

"I stay."

"Fine. Color. Here. But you gotta let daddy and Marissa talk," he put the baby in the stroller and took out a coloring book out, letting Bellie on his lap.

"She's beautiful, they both are…"

"Thank you. So, anyway…do you mind finishing up with them, here? She's two…she doesn't…Or we can reschedule…"

"And half, daddy."

"And a half, yes Arabella, you're so smart. But you don't know what an abdominoplasty is, right?"

"It's fine…"

"No…I'm colorin' a ucorn."

"A unicorn, yeah. That's pretty, baby."

"Tene's a baby. Not me."

"You're right. So, with an abdominoplasty, you're looking at least a month of recovery time, and I'm really not comfortable performing it on you if you aren't doing it for yourself. But let me give you a referral to a nutritionist…"

"Daddy you get sperry yo yo?"

"Stawberry, yeah probably, sweetheart."

Bellie stopped coloring, looked at Marissa. "My mommy get nelly yoyo, nana get cho-late and pop pop get cookies. Tene too little."

"Yeah? That sounds yummy, what kind do you like?"

"Nelly and sperry and a lotta bears. I eat bears now."

"Yeah, you're old enough to eat gummi bears now, diva, sometimes. I'm sorry, she loves to talk…But Dr. Westwood is great, and I'll follow up with him, and if you still want something in a few months, we can talk again. You get it, though right? I can't have that on my conscience. Nothing is worth a ring that means nothing…"

"My mommy has nice ring…"

"I bet she does…"

"I color for you, here, so you not sad," Arabella brushed her wavy brown hair out of her eyes, looking up from the desk and passing the unicorn coloring page to Marissa.

"Wow, thank you so much," Marissa looked up at Jackson. "You are so lucky."

He kissed his daughter's head. "I know…"

"Daddy is Tene seeping?"

"Yeah, sweetheart. One more minute, we'll get some hamburgers…"

"But Marissa…it's so worth it to wait. Find your soul mate, don't lose yourself for someone else."

"Yeah, thank you Dr. Avery. I really appreciate it."

Marissa shook hands with Jackson and left. "Alright girls, ready to go eat?"

"Me. And Tenley too." Jackson shut and locked the door to his office. "And mommy."

"Mommy's not here silly, she's home, we'll see her soon."

"Mommy want bears."

"Yeah I know, mommy loves gummi bears."

"And me. And Tenley. And Daddy."

"Yeah, she loves us and gummi bears, that's about right."

"We sun mates."

"Yeah, is that what she told you before, in the hallway? We're all soulmates huh?"Jackson laughed.

"Yeah. All us, sun mates…"


	21. Valentine's Future

**Day 82. A Japril Valentine's day. Kinda. **

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><p>"Hi daddy! Happy Balentimes Day!"<p>

"Happy Valentines Day, Princess! What'd you do today, baby girl?"

"I not a baby, daddy. Braelyn's the new baby. She not even new. Geez." Arabella rolled her eyes at her father.

"Geez. You're right. Sorry. What'd you do today, diva?"

"Made you a balentime in day care. And mommy. And Wilber maded me one. And gabed me a kiss." Bellie continued color, oblivious to her father's reaction.

Jackson closed the refrigerator, jaw on the floor, and walked over to his daughter, who was absorbed in her coloring page at the kitchen table. "What did you say, missy?" He came up next to her, his face so close he blocked her vision.

Arabella giggled. "He gabed me a kiss on the cheek."

"You listen to me good, Bella. Don't you ever let a boy named Wilber give you a kiss ever again. If you ever bring a boy home, you make sure he has a good, solid name, you hear me? Like Zach."

Arabella wrinkled her nose. "I no knows Zach, daddy."

"Good, keep it that way."

"You would have a problem with his name over everything else," April rolled her eyes, Braelyn on her hip, Tenley waddling close behind.

"Where's my sweet Tenley girl, where is she?" Jackson asked, scooping the toddler up in his arms after he kissed April and the baby. His two-year old was so different than his first-born, it was crazy. Arabella was almost four going on forty. She'd always had an answer for everything and a lot to say and was always ahead of the usual language milestones. She never shut up.

Tenley was a sweet, quiet, Kepner baby. She was doing fine, but was a baby of few words. When she spoke, you listened, because she had something to say. When Arabella wrestled you to the ground, Tenley met you there to give kisses. She'd often chill with her mama in the nursery and craft room at night, watching her take care of Braelyn and knit, while Arabella and Jackson argued over whether to watch Dora or Little Einstein's before bed.

"Go ahead baby, show daddy what you made."

She handed over a big piece of heart-shaped construction paper, decorated with buttons, her footprints in the middle, with "To Daddy…Love…" written in adult handwriting and scribbles that looked like they started with a T at the bottom. "Did you make this all by yourself, sweet angel? Did you write your name, too? That's so pretty!"

"Yes. T." Tenley nodded.

"Your name starts with T, good job, Tenley."

Arabella sighed, bored. "She knows her ABC, now. Here. Look what I maded you." She climbed off the chair. "I useded sparkles. But I wouldn't let Miss Kay put gross paint on my feet, so it my hands."

"Thank you sweetheart, this is so beautiful." He kissed her cheek.

"Daddy, I not sweet."

Jackson couldn't help but crack a smile. She was honest, at least. "Sometimes you are, Diva. Who told you, you weren't sweet?"

"Nana say I sassy, like her."

"Bellie, did you talk to nana today? Tell daddy."

"Oh yeah. Me and Tenley telled her Happy Balentimes day, after day care 'acause mommy got us early. And I telled Pop Pop too."

"You love Pop Pop, huh Bellie?"

"He lub me, too, dad!"

"He does…what did Pop Pop tell you?"

"He telled me Happy Balentimes Day. And Tenley. And Braelyn, but he didn't want to talk to her. And he telled me I can go to the state and take pictures soon."

"Yeah, soon. You love those too." Bellie loved going to the Avery estate to take the pictures every year. And Harper Avery loved all his great-granddaughters, but Arabella Catherine stole his heart completely and never let it go.

"He telled me I wear many dresses as Nana, dis time."

"Oh, boy." Jackson smirked, already getting an image in his head of what that day was going to be like."

"Last time, he telled me my baby sisters comed too fast."

"Oh, really?" Jackson raised his eyebrows, concerned.

"What do you think, Bellie, did your sisters come to fast?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, they comed fast, mom. But they ok. Sept I no idea why Tenly watch you crafts."

April laughed. "She has no idea why you watch daddy on the computer."

"Daddy tell me wheres my heart, and my metacarps. I telled Pop Pop. He say I can be a heart surgery like him." Arabella did love to learn about being a doctor like her parents and her Nana and Pop Pop.

"What else did Pop Pop tell you, Bellie Bear?"

"He telled me mommy teached daddy how to be a daddy." Arabella giggled.

"That's true, diva, isn't that silly?" Jackson tickled his daughter.

"Yeah, silly. You always a daddy. He telled me mommy's pretty, he lubs mommy 'acause mommy makes daddy soooo happy."

"Yeah? What'd you tell him?"

"I telled him daddy makes mommy so crazy acause he leaves socks on the floor and spills baby bottles."

"Wow, you and Pop Pop talk about a lot, Bellie."

"I just remembers now. Pop Pop telled me I so smart I could take the Abery Found before you, dad."

"Whoa I don't know about that, you ever see a heart Bellie?"

"Yeah, duh. I have a 'Peration doll."

"Oh right, my mistake. Hey daddy got all the presents so far, what about you guys, do you want to see what daddy got for you?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Jackson pulled out candy from his bag. Chocolate covered gummi bears for his bear lover Arabella„ and chocolate chip cookies for Tenley, the cookie monster.

"Hey, whoa. Jackson. They're 2 and 3 you can't just throw candy at them. What are the rules, girls?"

"No canne. Din." Tenley shook her head, from her spot at her father's leg.

"That's right, baby, no candy til dinner." April looked up at her husband and chuckled, but her tone was frantic, if not bitter. "Annd the 2-year-old has more sense than the 36-year-old."

"I'm sorry, Love. It's just…they'll understand. You do, right? You'll eat these after dinner." Both girls nodded.

"I don't even know what I'm making for dinner, Jackson. It's 4:30 and this one is on a weird schedule because I'm introducing solids, and they didn't nap, today and they need baths and…you just come in like Willy Wanka with candy." Jackson could tell she wasn't mad…just stressed. And tired. He hadn't seen her look this tired in awhile. "And I forgot, babe. I forgot to get you something."

"Relax." Jackson took his 6-month old daughter from his wife. "I got us both something. Nicole is coming at six to watch all three. She's gonna come and stay all night. Until three in the morning if we want. We're gonna go, get dinner, drink a glass of wine. Or two. Or three. Or Four. And then we're going to check into a hotel, and eat some chocolate covered strawberries, and champagne will be there, too. And we'll make love like we used to when there were no little princesses around to barge in. And then we're gonna come home. And kiss our babies. And cuddle. We're gonna get some hardcore cuddling in, later. Sound good?"

The tension in April's body visibly released with every word he said. "Yeah, yeah. That sounds great, honey. You're so good to me. So good." She kissed him, and even with a baby in his arms and two little girls in the room, she melted in to him, taking his face in her hands and not letting him go, even when he tried to pull away. "We're gonna take a bubble bath, baby. A long bubble bath." Jackson nodded, not so much agreeing as accepting her. Letting her escape for a minute.

Only her daughter pulled her out of her trance. "Ewww mommy. Those kissies are ascusting."

"Actually diva, these kissies are just for us so only we know how super yummy they are." Jackson chased after Arabella.

"Baths, honey. They need baths before Nicole comes. And I can't drink until…"

"I got it, April. You go and shower. And pump, you gotta do that before you can drink, right?"

April smiled, she loved that he noticed the little things. "Three baths? By yourself?"

"Two baths. That can happen simultaneously. Piece of cake. "

She looked back at him, biting her lip, trying to decide when to pull the trigger. Ultimately, she decided she'd enjoy the night more if she told him first. "And Jackson, I didn't forget your gift. It's on our bed. But get baths done first, trust me. And open it alone."

Ninety minutes later, Jackson put Dora on to distract his daughters, undoing the ribbon box that was on their bed. Immediately upon opening it, he started laughing at the sheer absurdity of it. He was happy April came in right after to focus him. She sat on his lap.

"Are we happy?" she whispered, kissing down his neck.

"The better question is, are _you _happy?"

"A little annoyed that I can't have that wine or champagne. And a little nervous about work, but…"

"Babe, don't be nervous about work, you own the hospital."

"I know but…I'm stretched thin with three kids, now and Harper is gonna…"

"Why do you care what Harper tells Bellie, babe? You can't pay attention to him, he doesn't know how to speak to kids, and we know how he is…"

"Yeah but…I just hope we get your boy so you can go snipped," she whispered.

"Well that's a nice thought to have in my head, Happy Valentine's Day to me."

"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure you have a happy Valentine's night," April promised. They hardly ever had time alone, and they weren't about to get any more, any time soon. They both planned to make tonight count.


	22. The Girls Only

**This prompt is what officially opened up this world for me. I knew I had a multi-fic world when I came up with this. It was a free choice, because I posted in on my birthday, which fell on Day 111 of this 120 day project. A multi-fic called "The Girls Only" will start soon. I don't own any of the songs referenced in this story, or the characters of Jackson Avery and April Kepner, for that matter. Thanks for R&Ring. **

* * *

><p>"We have some news for you, girls…." Jackson grinned at his two and four year olds from the couch. He took a breath, ready to reveal, but Arabella beat him to it.<p>

"I know mama have da pop already. I knowed foreber," she said, complete with an eyeroll.

"What does that mean, Bellie Bear? Tell Tenley," April smiled big at Braelyn, cooing on her lap.

Arabella turned to her little sister. "Dares a baby in da pop in momma's belly."

"Baby in Bellie?" Tenley pointed to her sister, giggling.

"Not me, silly. I said mama's." Arabella rubbed April's belly and she felt it was safe to let out a sigh of relief. This was a complete 180 from the way Bellie had taken the news of her other two siblings, at least so far. April delighted in small victories, these days. "Mom, are you happy you have da pop?" Arabella leaned in and whispered to her mother.

"Of course, baby! Of course I'm happy!"

Arabella kissed April's cheek. "Den I happy I almos have baby sister." She was four going on 40 lately, and Jackson and April didn't know how to deal with it besides awe.

"How do you know it's a baby sister, diva?" Jackson asked his daughter. She was right.

Arabella huffed and jumped off the couch, heading toward Jackson. "It always a sister, dumby." she started punching him in the chest, angry, quick little punches.

He held her fists above her head, startled. The force of her little jabs was nothing. It was just…She'd always expressed anger when she learned of April's pregnancies, but never directly at Jackson. In fact, they usually had to shield the belly from punches. "Hey, hey, we use words in this house, lots of them. In a few different languages actually, throw some at me." April had Bella and Tenley learning Spanish since they were babies and French, lately. Bella's intelligence amazed her parents every day. She loved French. But not when she was angry, apparently.

He was ready for, "I mad." What he got took him aback. "I'm mad at you dad! Letgowa me. I goin to my room." He let her go, without a word. If she wanted to punish herself for her actions, he wasn't going to be the one to stop her. Arabella spun around and looked at her dad when she reached the end of the hallway. "Don't find me dad. Don't." She put her hand in front of her face for emphasis. Jackson was going to kill Catherine for teaching her that, no matter that "every diva needs it in her arsenal," she should not be teaching it to her granddaughter. Three kids under five should be providing enough payback for her. No need to teach the sassy one hand motions to go along with her attitude.

"What was that?" Jackson turned to April when Arabella stormed off. He didn't know whether to be more amused or concerned.

His wife was no help. "We have no idea, right Braelyn? She's not mad at us four, not our problem, dad. You should figure that out." She tickled Braelyn who was struggling to stand against the couch, before turning her attention to the toddler in the room.

"No dea." Tenley giggled. "Baby?" she asked, pointing to her mom's stomach.

"Baby!" April agreed, lifting up her shirt. Look, kiss the baby. Mommy does all the time, kiss the baby in da pop, as your sister likes to call it." Tenley did and Jackson felt the tiniest bit of resentment as he reluctantly went down the hall to face the diva. She seemed to be giving him more trouble lately and he had no idea why. Usually Arabella spread sass equally, and the extra attention she was giving him lately was worrisome.

"Arabella Catherine Avery," Jackson said, from the doorway of his daughter's bedroom. She was sitting on her canopy bed, legs crossed, reading her beloved Bearinstein Bears. She was slowly learning to read, but not quite there yet.

She gave him the evil eye for interrupting her. "Daddy Abery," she shot back at him, matching his serious tone.

Jackson chuckled a little, to himself. He dared not ever show her how adorable she was, ever, or else they'd have an even bigger diva on their hands. "Would you like to go get a cheeseburger with me, princess?"

"No!" Arabella crossed her arms defiantly and went back to her book.

"No? But cheeseburgers are your favorite. C'mon, just Bellie and daddy. Maybe we'll get sperry ice cream, after, too. That sound good?"

"I want chicken nuggies! They my fabrite." Arabella looked at her father cautiously, knowing she was treading a thin line.

"Ok, so you get chicken nuggies then, come on."

"Ok, I get chicken nuggies and sperry ice ceam." She slid off the bed and took her father's hand in the doorway, suddenly his best friend.

"Oh, so now you like me?" He tickled her as he took her in his arms, eliciting the sweet giggles he lived for.

"I ony mad about da pop. But I _starbing_ dad." Adding the dramatic effect was her specialty. In the living room she whispered in his ear. "We get nuggies for ebryone?"

"No, baby because when we get home it will be too late for Tenley to eat, I think mommy has something yummy for her."

"Ok, but I ask mom for da baby in da pop, pweese let me down." Jackson obliged and watched intently as Arabella climbed on the couch next to April.

"Mommy, me and dad getting chicken nuggies and sperry ice ceam. We be back later. What you and da baby in da pop want?"

"Bellie, that's so nice of you to think of mommy and the baby. Hmmm…I think I want a bacon cheeseburger, can you remember that?"

"Yeah, easy. What for ice ceam?"

"I don't know yet, diva, I'll text daddy later."

Arabella patted April's tummy. "Ok, you tex dad and rest, mommy. No be sad." She kissed April's cheek and then lifted up her shirt, kissing her tummy. "Bye baby." Jackson raised his eyebrows at his wife from behind his daughter's back. April gave him a quick shrug. A little too quick.

"Bellie Bear, let's go before all the chicken nuggies in the place are gone." Reluctantly Bellie let go of her mom.

"Bellie, mommy is so happy," April assured her daughter. "I'm gonna make nuggies for Tenley and then we're gonna practice our words and feed Braelyn, and we want you to have the best time with your daddy and not be worried about us. Right, Tenley girl?"

"Yes!" Tenley nodded at her sister seriously.

"If you want a piggyback ride, hop on now, diva, I'm leaving for nuggies."

"I lub you mommy," Bellie called, as she went through the door on Jackson's back. The worried edge in her voice did not subside.

"So diva, are you still mad at daddy?

"Mmmm hmmm," she nodded her head, resolutely, but was concentrating on eating her nuggies and fries.

"That makes me so sad, can you tell me why?"

"You gib mommy da pop. Pop Pop telled me."

"Wooow," Jackson whistled. "You and pop pop keep some serious secrets huh? Did Pop Pop tell you mommy had the pop?" They had just gone to Boston two weeks ago for the annual photoshoot, but were so used to just telling the girls when April was 6 months, they'd asked Harper and Catherine not to say anything. Guess they'd have to rethink that strategy in the future. There would be a future, as far as Jackson was concerned, because he did not yet have a son.

"No! I jus telled you dad, I knows mommy hab the pop foreber ughhh!" Arabella sighed and rolled her eyes. "I telled Pop Pop mommy hab the pop. He jus say oh really. And I ask him who gib mommy da pop. Pop Pop tells truf." Bellie huffed.

"Bellie, I'll tell you the truth too. Don't you love your sisters? What's wrong with the pop why does it make you sad?"

"'Acause da pop make mommy sad."

"When baby, what do you mean?" Arabella ate her nuggies, over the conversation. He'd have to approach it from a different angle.

"Hey princess, what do you do with mommy all day when daddy's at work?" Braelyn was only 6-months when April found out she was pregnant, again. She very reluctantly decided to take a leave of absence from work, and was just home with the girls, for now.

"We dos numbers and colorin' and Fwench words and Spanish and we eats lunch and sometimes we hab dance party."

Jackson laughed. "A dance party, huh? What do you dance to?" April knew Jackson hated to dance, but she used to dance around him all the time, trying to make him smile. She hadn't danced, recently, now that he thought about it. Maybe she saved it all for the dance parties, "I dancies to Taylor Swif. Tenley like Ariana. Mommy like Lady Anebell." She smiled, thinking about it.

"What's so funny princess? I see that smile."

"Da song funny. I no no why you don' take me dowtown."

"That's mommy's song, huh?" They hadn't been on a date since Valentine's Day, since she told him she was pregnant, six months ago.

"Yeah, ebryone hab a song, dad."

"What's your song, baby?"

"Shake It Off. Das funny too."

"And what's Tee's song?"

"Pop-oh-lar." She no no what day say. And we all hab a sad song."

"What does that mean, baby?"

Arabella shrugged. "When mommy sad she play Jesus take wheel. And she pick me up and we slow dancies acause mommy neber did wif you, dad. And mommy cry and I kissies her cheek and tells her it OK." Arabella suddenly paused and dropped a chicken nugget, her face, tears threatening to leave her eyes. But she was a tough girl, she held them back when she wanted to. "Oh, no dad!"

Jackson leaned forward, taking his daughters hand. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"I telled you a girls only. The dancies and sad song are girls only."

Jackson raised his eyebrows, confused and a little bit alarmed. "What does that mean, Arabella?"

"Mommy say shhh no telling daddy. He no like to dance and mommy keep cryin' a see-ret." She put her head in her hands.

"It's OK, baby. Mommy tells daddy secrets all the time."

"Not the girls only dad. You a boy. I not dumb."

"OK, Bellie. Is that why you don't like the pop?"

Arabella nodded. "It gib mommy bad dreams yeserday." Jackson knew yesterday could've been a week ago, a month ago. He never left the bed last night.

"What happens when mommy has a bad dream, and daddy's not there, Arabella?"

"She say Jacksie, Jacksie, Jacksie and wake me up. And den I go to da bed where daddy goes and I tells her 'It ok, Bird. I gib her hugs and kissies and mommy say I'm not bird, I'm mommy. And I say 'Ok, mom. Bellie here. Bad dream go away.' And we snuggles."

"You heard daddy say Bird once, baby?"

"Yeah, wheneber mom sad…you say I here, Bird."

"Well thank you for taking care of mommy when she has a bad dream." This was all worrying Jackson, but he didn't let her see, of course.

"Oh no, dad, I telled anoder girls only." This time there was no stopping the tears.

"Oh Arabella, sweetheart, let's call mommy and ask what she wants for ice cream, OK? Let's go home and eat ice cream with Mommy. But I need you to call her and ask what she wants. She didn't text me."

"OK, yeah, I ask my mom," Bellie sputtered through tears.

Jackson called talked first and debriefed April about the girls only. But she swore the only thing she used that for was the dancing and silly things like extra candy. She was very concerned when she got on the phone with her daughter.

"Arabella, did you know your daddy is the best secret keeper ever?"

"I no nos dat."

"Yeah your dad is the best at keeping secrets. He helped mom keep a big one, one time. And he told no one until I said OK."

"OK, mom."

"Bellie did you make up your own girls only?"

"Yeah, acause mommy no like eberyone to knows she cry."

"Well, I want you to tell him every single one, OK? Every girls only in your head." April didn't exactly keep secrets from Jackson, she just didn't tell him things, sometimes. But she had an idea of what Bellie would tell him, and was prepared to come clean, that night. She was ashamed at having put her daughter through this.

Arabella immediately sounded happier. "Mom, dares just one more."

"I know sweet girl, I know which one. You tell him how you helped your mom and can get me peanut butter chocolate chip. But I want you to stay with your daddy and snuggle on the couches with your sperry ice cream before you come home. Just daddy and Bellie. "

"OK, peanut choco chip, dad, but we stay on couchies acause I hafta tell you the udder girls only."

"OK, Bella, that sounds great."

"I love you, Bellie."

"I lub you, mom danks for bein' not mad."

"You're welcome, sweet girl."

When they were settled on the couches at the local ice cream polar, Jackson took a deep breath. "Hey Bellie girl, what's your last girls only?"

"Oh one time mommy was sad and she just cudden't get out ob bed, she just cudden't dad, no be mad." Arabella stated to cry again, this time out of fear for her mother.

"I'm not, mad. I'm not. What happened?"

"Mommy could help Braelyn but she cudden't help me and Tenley. I make Cheer-os for us. And help Tee wif potty and pick out what she weared, I be such a big girl and den we snuggle wif mom all day. No numers. Letters or langugies. And daddy not come home foreber. Den mommy be OK next day an' say Bellie be a big girl. Don't be mad, dad. She just be tired. I dink 'acause da pop."

Jackson kissed his daughter's cheek as she dug into her strawberry ice cream again. "I'm not mad, baby. I'm proud you were such a big girl. I'm not mad at your mommy." But he was oh so worried.

Jackson and April sat in the living room later that night, waiting for Bellie to put on her pajamas so they could put her to bed together. She refused help getting dressed these days. "So, you wanna talk?" April yawned, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Not tonight, love. Tonight I wanna dance with you." April's eyes widened in disbelief, they'd never danced before, ever. "Put on your song." She put on Carrie Underwood and pulled Jackson close to her, baffled as to why he never wanted to dance, he was doing fine. "Hey Bird?" he asked, as she rested her head on his shoulder, again.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna stop, after this one?"

"Absolutely not. My family is not complete yet."

"But babe, you're getting older and you're depressed and…"

"I thought we weren't talking about this tonight?"

Suddenly Bellie came in and started pulling at Jackson's leg. "No no no, dis a girls only dance. Only mom and Bellie dansies a dis."

"OK, OK, calm down Arabella, how about daddy and Bellie dance? I have the perfect song," April pat her daughter's head.

Jackson picked Arabella up in and took her little hands in his. "Daddy's dancing one night only, isn't that silly?"

Arabella giggled as she put her head on her dad's shoulder. "My dad silly."

The music blast from the ipod speakers and Jackson cracked up laughing. "Oh no, deep fried country…I shoulda known."

_I don't dance, but here I am  
>Spinning you around and around in circles<br>It ain't my style, but I don't care  
>I'd do anything with you anywhere<br>Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand  
>'Cause, I don't dance<em>

"You wanna spin big girl?"

"Yeah, us spin dad." So, they spun around in circles as April watched, smiling and rubbing her belly.

"Dad, I knows my sister in da pop's name," Bellie whispered in Jackson's ear.

"Oh really, what is it? Jackson asked, surprised.

"Her name Adalaide. So we bof starts wif A. And I takes care of her."

"I think that's a pretty name, Bellie, here lets get Mommy to dance with is and then we'll tell her the name."

"Yeah, tell her." So the four of them danced in the middle of the living room, until Bellie fell asleep in Jackson's arms.


End file.
